Through the Years
by charmony
Summary: NPH21 - Join our extended BAU gang on a family vacation of epic proportions. Share the laughter, tears, drama and fluff with each of our families as life happens and as we watch the children grow up on the way to the finale, live in the moments as they happen through the years. Rating is just to be on the safe side.
1. 1 Family Vacation

**A/N: I know what I said at the end of the last story; that it would be the end with just one more piece to finish off the NPH saga. But sometime in the intervening months when my world imploded around me, I decided that my finale piece couldn't just pop up suddenly. It needed an explanation for how everyone had reached that point. And that explanation wasn't something I could just cram into the beginning of the finale without completely bogging it down and ruining the beauty of it. So NPH21 was born. This will be a series of chapters delving into the lives of our BAU extended family, filling in the details of the intervening years between where we left off and where I will bid this universe a very sad adieu.**

 **Owing to the extra-long gap between my last post and this one, I will understand if some of my readers have moved on. But if you are still with me after all this time, welcome to the next instalment. Encouragement is always welcome, so please drop me a review and let me know what you think. And to everyone who has ever favourited me/my work and/or reviewed in the past, thank you seems so small but encompasses such a deep well of gratitude for believing in me.**

 **I should hopefully be publishing these with more regularity, but I make no promises. You should also note that these chapters will be longer than my norm, owing to how much is going on in them. I hope this doesn't put you off**

 **As always, I couldn't have managed this without my amazing beta wtiger5 being along for the ride; love you honey (3 & a half months to go!). I have also welcomed MissShawnaAlice onto the team to assist me with the flow of the chapters because there will be a LOT going on in them…and I am already seeing gold from her!**

 **WARNING: The story as a whole will have a little of everything going on in it, but as usual I will give specific warnings at the beginning of each chapter. This chapter is filled with lots of fluffy, mischievous and family oriented moments to make your heart melt.**

 **DISCLAIMER: I don't own Criminal Minds at all, although they do own me. And the list of those I do own is getting so incredibly long that I am just going to say that I own anyone who does not come directly from Criminal Minds.**

Chapter 1 – Family Vacation

June 2019

"Someone please remind me again why we are entering into this insanity?"

Aaron smiled in amusement as several of the others chuckled and Reid earnestly recounted the conversation they'd had at Christmas in response to Dave's dry rhetorical question. Someone had brought up wanting to go on a cruise, having never been before. Quite a few of the others also had it on their bucket lists and the next thing he had known, they were booking cruise tickets.

A _lot_ of cruise tickets.

Fifty-eight to be exact.

Twenty adults and thirty-eight children did not make for a small family vacation, or one that was easy to plan. But the joy on the children's faces when they had been informed of what their summer vacation would look like this year had been worth the headache of finding a cruise itinerary they could all agree on.

Not that they had told the children much of anything. They knew that they were flying down to Orlando and then catching a bus to Canaveral to meet up with the ship. They also knew that the cruise was going to last for 7 nights. They knew what to pack and that there would be lots of things for them to do and that they would have a blast.

What they hadn't been told was that they were going on a Disney cruise.

For the adults it was sheer self-preservation. The kids would be distracted by all the Disney themed activities. The activities themselves would tire most of the children out so that they slept well, even in this strange new _moving_ environment. The adults were going to take turns in looking out for the children so that each couple could have at least one romantic night to themselves.

But the logistics of placing fifty-eight bodies into rooms became a nightmare of almost epic proportions that almost forced the cancellation of the trip. Almost none of them fit the stereotypical mould for a regular family size, forcing them to get creative with their planning. Then Austin had the triplets and things became even more interesting. They had eventually come to the conclusion that they needed more eyes than the adults had between them in order to make the room arrangements work to their liking. So they sat down with the oldest children and asked them if they would be willing to supervise a couple of the kids during the nights that they were on the ship. Once the children agreed that they were happy to help, and honoured to be trusted to be in charge in the rooms, the planning had become that much easier to handle, especially for the Hotchner's and the Rossi's, who had seven and six children respectively, none of whom were really small enough to double up on narrow bunk beds.

They all opted to keep their youngest children with them, with stern warnings to the children who weren't sleeping in the same room as them as to what punishments they could expect if they misbehaved. In the end they needed fourteen rooms for their entire group because the rooms only slept four apiece, with a queen sized bed and a set of bunk beds in each room, but somehow they managed to make it work for them.

None of the adults were completely behind the idea of leaving any of the children in their rooms overnight without an adult present, but when they were informed that rooms in the area they had booked into were connecting rooms, this eased a lot of the unsettled feelings they still had.

And now the time had come. They were finished with work for the next few weeks. Tomorrow would be spent packing and finalising things and then on Thursday they were flying down on several flights to Orlando. They were intending to have a quiet Friday and then on Saturday morning they would board a bus for Canaveral in the morning and be on the cruise ship just in time for lunch.

Aaron shot Dave a look. "You know you started all of this right?"

Dave shook his head. "Teresa started all of this, I just backed her up. That is a completely different thing."

There were a few snorts of laughter at this, and more than one hand came up to hide a grin as Aaron rolled his eyes and Reid started arguing the difference.

New Section

The sounds of excited travellers surrounded them as they did yet another head count to ensure that they had all of the children with them. It helped that they had all the kids grouped by rooms already as they waited to board the cruise ship they could see just outside of the lounge they waited in. It also helped that none of them wanted to get lost or miss out on the cruise entirely so they were all on their very best behaviour.

Esther and Emily walked toward the group, having taken nine week old Isaac to get his nappy changed before they went in to the office to alert the staff there that they had arrived. They had shocked the woman who had taken their call regarding their booking of the rooms they required. An explanation of the size of their group and the ages of the children, particularly those who would be in a room without an adult present overnight, and almost an hour of discussion later and they were assigned a dedicated Hostess of their own to assist them while on board the ship for the duration of their cruise. Which meant that shortly they would meet Melanie, and she would show them on board the ship and to their rooms, separate from other group bookings so that they hopefully wouldn't lose anyone.

Twenty minutes later, the children were excitedly exploring their rooms for the next seven nights while the adults listened intently to Melanie as she explained the room features and pointed out things to note from the itineraries they had been given. Luggage was dropped off inside the rooms and then Melanie led them back to the main area of the ship and then down to where the various children's clubs were running.

Except for Spencer and Austin's one month old triplets, and Sean and Esther's son Isaac, everyone else had been enrolled in one of the kids' clubs. That way, the adults got to do stuff that was age and interest appropriate and the children still got to have fun without driving the adults mad. Though the clubs weren't starting until the next day, parents needed to check their children in and get their wrist bands identifying who they were, their age, room number and the names of their parents. Each club provided a different coloured band, also showing immediately which club they were in to the ship staff.

That sorted, Melanie took them on a tour that included all the places that were pertinent to their holiday before walking them back to their rooms. They made it back in time to grab their life vests and make their way to their designated evacuation point during the emergency drill as the ship left the port and then they joined others in heading for the buffet area so that they could get the children in particular fed ahead of settling everyone down for an early night.

New Section

"What time is it?"

Emily waved her hand airily in Jordan's direction. "Ask your husband, or mine. They both have their waterproof sports watches on."

"If you're asking how much time we have before we have to go get munchkins for dinner, we've still got another fifteen minutes if we want to swing past the rooms first, twenty if we don't," Austin stated with a yawn as she finished feeding Sienna and placed her back in the traveling portable cot with her sisters before she tucked it back under her deck chair. The cot had a cooling pad in the bottom that lasted for several hours at a time and placing the cot under her chair not only kept it out of the way so that the babies didn't get stepped on, but added the additional benefit of the shade the chair provided.

"Why on earth would we want to go all the way back to our rooms first?" JJ demanded as she pushed up on her elbows and peered at Austin.

Austin smirked. "My darling husband believes that the shorts we wore over our suits to get here are far too revealing to be safe for casual strolling around the ship.

Several of the women snorted as JJ muttered, "Of course he said that," as she settled back down to enjoy the last of their sunbaking, child-free time.

Their first day on the ship had been delightful. After they had fed and dropped the children at their various clubs, they had discussed what they wanted to do that day, agreed to disagree, and made plans to meet back up for lunch before they splintered off to their chosen activities. Lunch had tasted better than ever without a myriad of complaints and conversational interruptions before they retired for an hour to let lunch settle. Rest time over and they had headed up to the pool areas. They had all played in the water for a time, though Austin and Esther had been content to settle in their deck chairs straight away with their children and gossip. Then the girls had climbed out, set up a row of chairs, and stretched out to sunbake after they reapplied their sunscreen layers, leaving the guys to a boisterous game of water volleyball. At the appointed time they had collected the children, had dinner in their assigned restaurant which to the delight of all changed from a black and white theme to a room full of colour as the meal progressed and then gone on to watch a live show featuring some of Disney's most beloved princesses. The whining upon announcement of bedtime had been minimal and the children had all slept through the night beautifully for them.

This their second day had been just as delightful, and Emily was loathe to have to become a parent again with shore excursions booked in for their next few days in ports. Oh, they could have left the children in the various kids clubs while the adults went off and explored, but they had all agreed that they would never hear the end of it if the children were left out of their first ever international sightseeing opportunity, so they hadn't even suggested it.

The first sign she had that she was definitely out of child-free time was the cold water that spattered her body and the shade provided by the tall man leaning in for a kiss.

"Do you know, you look like a work of art lying there in that tiny red set."

She smiled into Aaron's mouth as she stole another quick kiss and opened her eyes. "Do you think if we asked nicely and paid handsomely that one of the child care workers could lose one or all of the children for the night?"

He chuckled and pulled her up into a sitting position. She yawned widely and stretched as Aaron rubbed the water off his upper body, admiring her view as much as he had his. The scars of Foyet's attack all those years ago were faint white lines in his tanned skin and only added to his appeal as they spoke of his survival against all odds. She brushed her hand over his abdomen and used his hip to steady herself as she gained her footing before she stepped into him for another kiss, though this one was cut short by Sean.

"None of that; we're going to be late as it is getting the kids without the two of you being this distracted by each other."

Emily poked her tongue out at him and Sean dodged as Aaron swung playfully at him. They fell in at the back of the group, amused to hear Reid say that they should all really be more dressed than they were. No one was fooled into thinking he was really talking to anyone other than his wife as they argued back and forth.

"Are you guys ready for tomorrow?" Sean asked seriously.

Emily sighed and Aaron shrugged slightly. "As ready as we can be. We both appreciate you acting as an extra set of eyes for us while Esther helps Dave and Teresa out."

"But we're still convinced that something is going to go not-to-plan tomorrow," Emily finished.

"With children involved, it never does," Dave muttered dryly in front of them, causing them all to nod their heads seriously.

New Section

Gwendolyn Lynch took after her mother with a bubbly, outgoing disposition and a love for colour and quirk. Mackenzie Reid had her mother's beauty but was a female version of her knowledgeable, more serious father. Alisha Renhwah had her father's colouring and hair and the beginnings of his vast technical knowhow, combined with her mother's easy-going nature and her bright green eyes.

And all three girls were missing from the group when they reached the staging area to return to the ship at their second port stop.

Penelope, Austin and Carrie were all panicking outwardly, while their husbands pretended that they had everything under control as they spoke to ship staff and local authorities about the missing girls. The girls had been present at the head count conducted not half an hour before they reached the dock, but couldn't be found when they arrived and none of the children that were actually with them had any idea where they had gone off to. Sean and Esther had stayed on the dock with the rest of the children and the distraught parents while the rest of the adults had fanned out and doubled back the way they had come, joined by local officials to increase the amount of eyes looking and voices calling. But almost half an hour after their absence had been noticed, they still couldn't be found.

And then the crowd around them parted as Emily pointed three very subdued little girls forward. Their parents fell on them with cries of relief and joy and it was quickly clear that the girls were trying to act scared and upset. Carrie turned a questioning eye on Emily as the others were called in from the search.

"I was walking past a bakery when I happened to look in the window. They were using their cuteness to charm treats out of the baker and his wife and had apparently been there for about an hour, talking about their lives in America and how supposedly _unfortunate_ their circumstances were. I felt so horrible about the whole thing that I probably overpaid for everything they had eaten but I couldn't just let them get away with it."

Carrie set Alisha back from her and narrowed her eyes at her only daughter. Gwendolyn was intuitive enough to step back from her mother as her face went red, while Mackenzie just burst into tears as her parents looked on her with disappointment. Kevin murmured something to Penelope and she nodded, turning on her heels to start moving towards the boat that would return them to the ship while Gwendolyn warily watched her father.

Austin said quietly, "The three of you will apologise to these officials who, like us, were all extremely worried about you and then you will get on the boat so that we can return to the ship and stop holding everyone up from the rest of their holidays. We will discuss suitable punishments later."

The girls did as they were told with tears in their eyes because they all knew that they were in a lot of trouble and then everyone got into the boat with the staff from the ship. Back at the ship, word was obviously out that there had been children missing, so they had to endure a lot of well wishes on finding them safe and sound on the way to their cabins as the ship got underway. Six adults and three children walked into a room and shut the door while the rest of them headed on to dinner. The much subdued group joined them fifteen minutes later and declared that they weren't going to be attending that evenings show. A short, silent conversation later and Aaron declared that no one was attending the show, that perhaps everyone was a bit too overstimulated and it would be nice if they found a quiet lounge somewhere and did something quiet.

After the negative cries died down in the wake of their unified parents, muttered conversations turned into accusations of fault and the next thing they knew, food was being flung right alongside the outraged shouts.

Aaron ducked a particularly large spoonful of mashed veggies that unfortunately landed on the patron behind him and murmured, "Definitely overstimulated." He stood up and whistled sharply, immediately garnering the attention of his entire extended family, and indeed everyone in the vicinity who had ducked under a table to avoid the flying mess. "Right, the following children may stay and finish their dinners, on account of their staying out of the food fight." He named the three girls who had been missing earlier, because they were already smarting from the conversations with their parents and had known better than to get involved. He also named seven other children who had stayed out of the fight, agreed to adding India to the list after Emily stated they had ducked under the table together early on and then indicated the rest were going to their rooms immediately.

"I hope you actually ate some of your food before you started flinging it about, because otherwise you are all going to be very hungry tonight. There will be no quiet time for you; you will apologise to people who are currently wearing your dinner and then you will march in an orderly fashion to your rooms where you will go straight to bed, because this kind of behaviour is unacceptable. Let's go."

Those who thought to whine were stared down by their parents. Apologies were subdued and then the group headed off, leaving Sean and Esther to supervise those who were allowed to continue eating. Staff moved around them, cleaning up the mess, to which they apologised profusely before they all headed off to find somewhere quiet to spend the evening.

New Section

The relief at being back at sea the next day, and therefore child free was huge as the adults settled down in a lounge for a relaxing morning.

"Do you know, children seemed like such a great idea, once upon a time," Dave said drily as he sipped at his non-alcoholic cocktail. His statement was met with a chorus of agreement and tired laughter as Teresa smacked his arm.

"Do you know," Spencer added in a mimicking drawl, "that this cruise seemed like such a great idea, once upon a time."

The agreement was more heartfelt this time, though no less tired.

"I have to say, I was so very close to cancelling tomorrow," Emily said. "The only reason I didn't was because this is a once in a lifetime opportunity. The kids can enjoy it tomorrow and then all of them except Jack and India are grounded for a couple of weeks."

"So you think two weeks is acceptable punishment?" Austin asked.

"For my lot for a food fight? Absolutely. For Mackenzie and the terror she caused you while you imagined who knows what happening to her? That is entirely up to you."

Silence descended for a time before Jordan stood up and stretched. "Ladies, I am heading down to see if the spa is free. I will then have lunch and am thinking of an afternoon nap. Anyone keen to join me?"

The response was unanimous, and with assurances to Esther and Austin that the babies would be well cared for, the men were left on their own while the women headed off to be pampered.

Half an hour later, Jordan and Teresa shared a room while two women oiled and massaged their backs.

"You know, you've been holding something in for a while now," Teresa said softly with her eyes closed, as close to purring like a cat as she had ever come. "Why don't you share it with me and see if I can help. Even if I can't, you'll probably feel better for speaking it out."

Jordan sighed heavily. "I take it I've lost the knack for hiding what I am really thinking?"

"Not at all. I'm guessing though that whatever it is, it is heavy because you have been looking weighed down by it. Have you talked with Derek about whatever it is?"

"Some. But work has been so crazy lately that I haven't had a chance to really talk to him about where everything is now."

"Would you prefer to talk to him first?"

"Yes, and no. I need to talk to someone, but this cruise doesn't seem to be the place to be bringing up something quite this heavy."

Teresa held out her hand and squeezed gently when Jordan took it. "Well if you change your mind, I am all ears. And if not, you can always hit me up for a coffee when we get back."

"I know, and I'm grateful."

New Section

"Spit it out, whatever it is that has you so worried about Jordan."

Derek raised an eyebrow at Aaron, but wasn't too surprised that his boss had picked up on his worry.

"Jordan thinks that Jonathan has GDD."

"What's that?" Sean asked.

"Global Developmental Delay," Spencer and Brad answered at the same time. They looked at each other while everyone chuckled.

"Essentially, Jonathan is showing a delay in some keys areas," Derek responded. "He is twenty-six months old, so he should be talking reasonably well and he should absolutely be running and climbing about everywhere. But he isn't really speaking more than baby talk and he has only really just started walking without assistance, not to mention that he is extremely unsteady on his feet. We spoke with our GP about it and she was going to run some tests, including brain scans, to see what might be going on."

"Is this because of the oxygen deprivation at birth?" Cameron asked.

"Our GP believes so, yes. Nothing was confirmed the last time Jordan and I seriously discussed everything, but she said they were close to confirming it. I thought it should have been confirmed before we left for this trip, but she hasn't spoken to me about it so I don't know where it is at."

"What does it actually mean for Jonathan and your family if he has this?" Aaron asked.

"Just that Jonathan will learn everything but it will take him longer than it would other children, and he may learn things in a different fashion to other children also. He is most likely mentally younger than he is, and he might need a lot of support once he gets to school age in order to start school with other children his age. It could also be a temporary thing, whereby once he catches up he is fine, but on the flip side, he may always be slower and mentally younger. We just don't know at this stage."

"So no medications required?"

"No, thank goodness. Just a lot of patience and a lot more support than most children ever need. He'll have a social worker who we will see on a regular basis though. They'll monitor his progress, arrange specialised programs to improve his progress for us and they will be the ones to make arrangements to get him into a school that isn't in our district if it comes to the point where he needs special education classes that none of the local schools provide."

Dave had been quiet up to that point, but now he quietly added, "Lizzie has GDD and epilepsy thanks to what her birth mother did to her body while she was in utero."

The guys winced. "That sucks," Brad said compassionately. "How bad is the epilepsy?"

Dave shrugged. "It is currently controlled with medications, but it is early days in the diagnoses yet; we have more tests lined up for when we return to find out what type of epilepsy it actually is."

"I'm surprised the infants club here took her in with that hanging over her head."

"They normally wouldn't have, but one of the volunteers supplementing the paid staff on this trip is a paediatrician specialising in epilepsy treatment. We talked at length about her medication schedule, how her seizures usually occurred and what could set her off and he stated that he was happy to take full responsibility for her so that Teresa and I could actually enjoy the break. And after watching over her for a couple of days, he had a lot to say about the doctor we are currently seeing, and none of it was good. He's given us contact information for a friend of his who practices in DC, which Teresa and I agree we will definitely follow up on when we return."

Silence fell as they all contemplated their families and either gave thanks that everyone was healthy or tried not to worry about things that couldn't be changed.

New Section

The children had obviously learned their lessons the night before. They were all softly spoken and well-mannered as they sat down to dinner that evening. There were no complaints when bed time rolled around and there wasn't anyone who wasn't happily snoozing by nine that evening. They all knew that if they kept acting up, there was a pretty good chance that the exciting adventures they would have the next day would be taken away from them.

None of the adults did anything to discourage this misinformation.

Dawn rolled around too fast, but again the children behaved well over breakfast, though the level of excited tension grew with every moment that drew closer to their arrival at their destination. Even the older children were excited at being able to visit Disney Castaway Cay.

The parents reiterated the rules, stressing the 'stay with the adults' rule in particular. Three little girls in particular nodded vigorously, knowing a good thing when it was handed to them…after all, they could be stuck back at the ship with someone to look after them.

The day went off without a hitch, with each of the adults taking advantage of relaxing massages in between the time spent watching their children being thoroughly entertained. After a relaxing lunch, the group went in different directions, family groups splitting up depending on preferences for the afternoon activities. By the time they got back to the ship, just about everyone under the age of ten was barely awake, so they bathed all of the kids and put most of them to bed, though they were offered dinner first; most were simply too tired to even eat.

Splitting the group of adults in half, the first group headed off to dinner with the children who were still awake while the other half stayed behind to watch over the kids. With Brad and Kelly part of the group left behind, nine year old Danielle sidled up to Mirkal and quietly asked if she could sit with the genius. He gallantly pulled her chair out for her as Henry slid into the seat on her other side. Having spent a bit of time talking over the last week in particular, the two smiled at each other before looking at the menu.

Conversation was sporadic with everyone so tired, but that didn't stop Mirkal from realising that Danielle was feeling a little out of her depth and trying to make things better for her. With an IQ of 191, Danielle was usually the one left out of everything, having already graduated high school; ostracised simply by not being interested in a lot of the things little girls her age were into because she had so much more in her head. Mirkal and Reid, both fully understanding where she was coming from because they had their own memories of their accelerated youth, had befriended her shortly after Kelly had shared the surprising news with the group. They had assisted the family unit to sort out what worked best in dealing with the everyday when a genius was involved, and they frequently took Danielle out for drinks just so that she could have a little time where she didn't have to struggle to find ground where everyone was on the same page.

"Did you have fun today?" he asked curiously.

Danielle smiled slightly. "Mostly. It was just frustrating to have strange adults talking to me like they were talking to other kids my age. I was really having to bite my tongue to keep from telling them off."

Henry grinned. "Yeah, but that would have been really funny to watch."

Danielle giggled and blushed. "Probably."

"What is the plan now that you have finished high school?"

"Mum suggested taking a little time just to be a child, but I'm not sure I could do that, I know too much. She also pointed out that a lot of teens take a gap year between high school and college and it got me thinking about what I really want to do with my life and what I could dabble around with now that might help with that. I don't think I could take a full year off because I really like studying, but I might take a semester to do some stuff."

"Any ideas on what you want to study when you get around to college?"

Danielle smiled brightly. "I want to be a doctor when I grow up. Not sure what kind of doctor, but I am certain I want to get into medicine. When I told Dad I wanted to attend his alma mater I thought he was going to cry with happiness. But he said that when the time comes he will help me with my application and he'll introduce me to the instructors so that they know to look out for me."

"Don't hospitals have volunteer programs for different things?" Henry asked. When Danielle and Mirkal looked at him quizzically, he shrugged, suddenly uncomfortable with the attention but knowing that Danielle was his friend and he somehow wanted to help. "When I broke my leg a few years ago, there was a lady who came around a couple of times with her guitar. She sang to the kids stuck inside in the ward and talked to us. I asked her why she did that and she said that she liked to give up her spare time to hopefully put a smile on someone else's face. So maybe you could volunteer at the hospital. Your dad could tell you what you could do."

Danielle's face lit up. "Henry, that's just brilliant! I'll ask Dad when we get back from the holiday. I could go in with him in the morning and go home with him when he leaves."

Henry blushed as Mirkal cautioned softly, "It is a really great idea, but it also may not be that easy. You may find that there are age restrictions on volunteer positions at the hospital. But if you like the idea of volunteering, speak with your dad and see what he says. There is probably a coordinator that you can speak with who can advise you properly."

Danielle sighed heavily. "I know. It really sucks to be a kid and yet be this smart." She brightened. "I may not be allowed to volunteer at the hospital, which really will be a loss, but there should be some other way to volunteer somewhere. Henry, you really are a genius!" And she shocked the three of them when she leaned in and kissed Henry quickly on the lips. They exchanged a startled look, and then they both blushed scarlet and turned quickly to their food which had just arrived.

Mirkal cleared his throat in an attempt not to laugh at them and looked across the table at Will, who looked curiously amused. Indicating that he would explain things to the other man later, Mirkal also turned to his meal.

New Section

The last day as the cruise headed back to Canaveral was uneventful. The kids enjoyed the last hours they had to play with new friends, and the adults enjoyed the last meals that they hadn't needed to prepare, serve or eat cold. The final show was spectacular and they all attended, with earmuffs providing enough muffling of the noise that the youngest of the group happily slept through the whole show.

Having spent an hour before dinner packing bags, it took very little time the next morning to confirm that they had everything before they disembarked. The kids chattered excitedly about the highlights, while the adults planned to never subject themselves to anything like that ever again.

 **End**

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	2. 2 The Renhwah's

**A/N: So far these chapters are practically writing themselves, so enjoy the posting time in between while you can; with me, who knows how long that will last! Now, as you might remember, I asked if anyone had any prompts relating to something they might like to see in this storyline. Daisyangel came up with the promp of a story between Toby and Alisha, and while I don't have the room in this outline to include a whole story, I have definitely included a special moment between the two of them in this chapter.**

 **I feel absolutely terrible that I missed reviews made to the final chapter of my last story when I posted the first chapter of this one, so I'll start with them before including those of you who reviewed my first chapter. A huge sing out in thanks goes to Mandy-muis, HGRHfan35, MissShawnaAlice, Daisyangel (for multiple reviews), JJGeniusFilez (for multiple reviews on some of my earlier works), zhangxinna, Wtiger5 and tannerose5 (for multiple reviews on some of my earlier works).**

 **I absolutely could not manage this complicated a project without the awesome support provided by MissShawnaAlice and Wtiger5; love and thanks ladies!**

 **WARNING: This chapter is mostly filled with family oriented fluff.**

 **DISCLAIMER: I don't own Criminal Minds at all, although they do own me. And the list of those I do own is getting so incredibly long that I am just going to say that I own anyone who does not come directly from Criminal Minds.**

Chapter 2 – The Renhwah's

June 2019

"Hi Emily."

"Hey Carrie. Sorry, I can't talk long but I was hoping you could do me a huge favour."

"Sure, anything."

"As you know, Jack was admitted to the hospital yesterday after getting his tonsils out. I'm supposed to be picking him up today but I have children with a stomach bug vomiting all over the place. So apart from the part where I can't get down there to pick him up because Aaron got called in to work for a meeting, I also don't feel right about bringing him home to most likely get sick, especially since it started with one child, spread to all of them and now I'm beginning to feel a little off."

"You should have called me, I could have come over to help you out."

"I honestly didn't think it was that bad, but it got bad very quickly. And considering how quickly it did get bad, I didn't want to call you over to help and send you home with the bug to share with your family. That just didn't seem fair.

"I understand, and say no more. Toby and I will go and pick up Jack, and he can stay with us for a few days if need be. I mean, I'm guessing that you really don't want or need him getting sick so soon?"

"That is certainly true."

Carrie frowned slightly as a thought occurred to her. "I thought having your tonsils out was a same day surgery. Is Jack alright?"

"When he woke up he was vomiting non-stop because the anaesthesia triggered his motion sickness, which necessitated them keeping him overnight to be on the safe side. He's fine today." A faint call reached her ears and Emily groaned. "I have to go. Thank you so much for this."

"It's no problem at all. Take care of yourself."

"Trying to," Emily said quickly before the call cut off.

Carrie put the phone back and went to find her son. Mirkal was at work, Alisha was at a friend's place and Wyatt was in daycare. Only Toby was home with her that day and she had no doubt that he would be thrilled to spend the time with his best friend.

Sure enough, upon hearing the news he whooped with glee and ran to find his shoes. Laughing at his enthusiasm, Carrie found her own shoes and grabbed her wallet and keys. Thinking of something while waiting for Toby to get back downstairs, she quickly called Emily and reminded her to call the hospital and clear it with them for her to pick Jack up. She quickly agreed to do just that and hung up abruptly, leaving Carrie hoping that things would go smoothly downtown.

Half an hour later, she was thinking they might have to wait a while. Jack was sitting on a chair in the waiting room ready to go, but no one at the nurse's station had heard from Emily regarding who her son was going home with. She had tried calling the house, but ended up leaving a message. Not wanting to bother Emily further, she sent Aaron a message and hoped his meeting was either over, hadn't started, or wasn't so important that he couldn't check the phone. She then settled in to wait.

The three of them talked quietly for almost an hour before Carrie's phone rang. Seeing that Aaron was on the line, she answered quickly.

"Hey Aaron. I'm sorry to bother you at work."

"It isn't a problem Carrie. Did Emily get back to you at all?"

"No she didn't. I'm a bit worried, but not unduly so. She sounded terrible, and like she had her hands full when I spoke with her."

"I'm about to leave work, so I'll be home soon to look after all of them. With luck I won't get sick at all, or at least not until they are all well again. Let me talk to whoever I need to so that I can arrange for you to take Jack home. If my word on the phone isn't good enough, I want to know it now so that I can swing past before I head out home."

Carrie took the phone to the charge nurse and waited while they talked. She listened as nurse Raquelle asked a bunch of questions, obviously trying to prove who Aaron was. It amused her to no end that she could easily answer every question the older woman asked, but she appreciated the security involved that protected the 13-year-old teenager she had loved and looked after for so long.

Approval given, Aaron ended the call with her and Carrie signed a bunch of paperwork. Since Toby had lost his tonsils at the age of eight, she knew all about aftercare, but she still took in the information handed to her to ensure that nothing had changed in the intervening years. On the way back home, she took the boys grocery shopping so she could feed Jack soft foods and clear broths. Toby declared that he would eat like Jack in support, so she made a clear chicken soup for lunch and encouraged Jack to eat a slice of bread soaked in the soup and with the crusts cut off. They were still eating when Aaron called to say that Emily had taken ill herself and was very apologetic for not calling the hospital; she simply hadn't been able to stop vomiting long enough.

Reassured that his mum and siblings would be alright, and feeling sleepy now that he'd eaten something, Jack headed to his room to take a nap and Toby went back to the book he had abandoned so enthusiastically several hours earlier.

Early July 2019

"Are you and Carrie doing anything special for Wyatt's second birthday at the end of this month?" Penelope asked Mirkal curiously as they worked side by side to find the information their team needed for the case they were working.

"We're just having a small party, mostly with friends from his daycare centre. We don't want to do anything huge for him because he is still too young to really appreciate it. We might hire a small bouncy castle for the kids to play on, but we were also just thinking about taking…"

Penelope flicked him a quick look as his voice faded, but went back to her work as she recognised that look on his face. Several moments later she had her own information to work. Minutes later they both moved away from the desk, with Mirkal stretching his arms above his head while Penelope found her mug.

"Shall we go grab a coffee now while we can?"

"Good idea. So to finish what I was saying about Wyatt's party, we were also discussing just keeping things simple and taking the whole thing out to the park. Feed the kids and then let them loose on the play equipment and then we don't have to worry about keeping them entertained."

"And it doesn't hurt that you can mostly just relax off to the side with only the occasional intervention when required."

"Exactly right."

October 2019

"Hey Toby, can I talk to you?"

Toby looked up from his schoolwork laid out on the picnic blanket and smiled to see his little sister standing at the edge looking at him uncertainly. "Sure thing butterfly. Shall we go across to the swings?"

Alisha smiled brightly at him and turned to skip across the park. Their mother looked in their direction and he pointed to where they were heading and she smiled and gave him a thumbs up as he followed his bubbly, six-year-old sister to her favourite apparatus. Knowing better than to think they would just talk, he pushed her until she was swinging as high as the swings would allow before he chose the one next to her and enjoyed being a kid again for a little while. But eventually her swinging became less and she started looking closely at him and he knew that it was time for them to talk.

"What's up butterfly? You seem really serious for you."

She smiled slightly, a silent acknowledgement that she agreed with him. But it was another minute before she spoke and he had a sudden desire to be anywhere else but there as her happiness slid off her face.

"You remember when you walked me home from school last week because Mum was sick and Dad was at work? The day aunt Emily picked up Wyatt?"

"I remember. You were telling me about the song your class was learning for the end of year school concert."

"Yes, that day. My friend Becky was there waiting for her mum too and you met her." When he realised that she was waiting for an acknowledgement from him, he made a noise of agreement and she continued. "I saw her the next day and she asked me how you can be my brother but have different coloured skin to me. I told her that we have the same mum but different dads and she asked me how that worked. I told her that I didn't know, it just did."

"Only now you want to know how it works?"

"Well, I kind of don't care, because you are my brother and I am your sister and I know who our parents are. Only she wouldn't stop talking about it. And then one of the other girls in the class came over because she heard what we were talking about and she said that if we don't have the same skin colour then we can't possibly be related. But I don't believe her since she is mean to _everyone_ but now Becky believes her and it didn't matter what I said. She just didn't believe me anymore."

Alisha was crying now, clearly distressed by the conversation, so Toby got off the swing, tugged her gently off of hers and moved them off to the side to sit on the grass. Once there, he pulled her to lean against him and just held her until she calmed down. Once he had wiped up her tears, he hugged her again.

"Does Becky also agree that this unnamed girl is mean?"

Alisha sniffled and nodded. "Becky and I are friends because I stopped the mean girl from teasing her on the first day of school."

"Then you go back to school tomorrow and you remind Becky that this girl is mean, and is just saying that to hurt you. I am your brother through our mother, but even if I was adopted, or you were, we would still be a family. Because a family isn't always related by blood; sometimes their only connection is through the heart and that's okay too. So you go back to that mean girl and you tell her that she doesn't know _anything_ about families. Don't say anything else to her. Just walk up, tell her that, and walk away with your head held high. And just ignore anything else she says because she clearly doesn't know what she is talking about."

"What about Becky?"

"Talk to Becky first. Tell her what we talked about and if she is still unsure when you tell her what I have said, suggest that she talk to her mum about it; I guarantee her mum will set her straight on the true definition of being related and family. Is she still talking about it now?"

"Not really. I mean, after that day, I wouldn't talk about it."

"But you were still thinking about it."

"Uh huh."

"Do you want to know why my dad isn't around anymore?"

Alisha frowned for a moment before shaking her head. "Maybe I will want to know later, but now it is enough to know that you are my brother, regardless of who our dads are."

"Okay butterfly. That is good enough for me too, but if you do ever want to know, I am happy to tell you."

She beamed at him, suddenly a lot happier with her world. "Thanks big brother. I love you."

Toby hugged her tight to him, then tickled her until she was squealing for mercy. "I love you too."

Early December 2019

Toby spotted Jack staring at the bulletin board and walked up to his best friend as curiosity got the best of him, despite the fact that he really needed to get to the library to return his overdue books.

"Whatcha looking at?"

Jack jumped, startled out of whatever he was thinking, and pointed at one of the fliers that had been tacked up. Toby followed with his eyes and saw the flier for the Annual Christmas Dance.

"That's in two weeks."

"Yes it is. And I am standing here reading the fine print down the bottom of the paper and am quietly fuming."

Toby looked where Jack had indicated and read that you couldn't bring anyone to the dance who didn't attend their school. Understanding dawned and Toby patted Jack's shoulder sympathetically.

"That really sucks."

"Yes it does. I know you will be taking Georgie to the dance, which is good cause she's awesome, but I am really going to feel like a third wheel, even though you both try really hard not to make me feel that way."

Toby cleared his throat as his spirits plummeted. "Actually, Georgie leaves with her family at the end of the school week for Minnesota. Apparently her grandma on her mother's side is really, really ill and isn't supposed to live for much longer. So her whole family are heading over there to spend time with her while there is still time left. She won't be back until after the New Year."

"Is that why she was crying when I saw her get into her dad's car yesterday after school?"

"Yes. She found me first thing this morning to tell me about the decision her family had made. She's pretty devastated because they have always been close, so it's going to leave a really big hole in her life."

Jack sighed heavily. "Now I feel terrible for my internal whining over not being able to attend school dances with Ari."

"Don't worry about it too much." They both turned toward the soft voice belonging to Toby's girlfriend Georgie Copeland. Georgie was blond haired and blue eyed and looked like a delicate china doll, though that was a misconception she was happy to propagate, preferring not to call attention to herself. Her looks seriously took away from how very strong she was, as she was taking martial arts lessons and swimming well enough that someone was already watching her with the Olympics in mind for her future. Her personality spoke of a quiet girl with a compassionate heart who was quite happy to leave the limelight to everyone else, though that reserve belied a quietly bright, happy nature that just drew people to her anyway.

"Hey," Toby said softly, holding out his arm to her. She moved to his side and rested her weight against him.

"I am really sorry to hear about your grandmother Georgie."

"Thanks Jack. Considering my mum is the youngest of twelve, and I am the youngest of eight, I guess it was going to happen sometime while I was still young. I just wish that we could all live forever and that I didn't have to go back to my old stomping ground only to have to say goodbye. I mean, I want the time that I can get with her knowing as I do that it isn't much, but I would much rather be here going to the dance with the two of you and having grandma just be alright."

"I can understand that," Jack said softly. "It isn't the same, but I know that dad's job is dangerous and that every time he goes off to work, it could be the last time that I ever say goodbye to him. So I always make sure to give him a hug and tell him I love him. You haven't been able to hug your grandma every day, so that can resound negatively with you, but if you told her how much you love her every time the two of you talked, then at least you can go over there to say goodbye knowing that you did your best to let her know how important she was to you."

Georgie smiled. "I like the way that you look at things Jack Hotchner. Though I haven't met Ari yet, she is a lucky girl to call someone like you her boyfriend; I have no doubt that you will never give her cause to doubt how special she is to you."

Jack blushed scarlet and mumbled something that might have been a thank you as he walked off with a wave. Toby laughed and Georgie giggled softly as she fell into step with him.

"Off to the library? Haven't you been trying to return those books all morning?"

"Yes, I have. And I may need to keep trying if I don't hurry."

She smiled up at him. "I'll hurry with you."

Mid-December 2019

"Do you get the feeling that it is the end of the world that they aren't attending this dance with their girls?" Emily asked Carrie in an amused tone of voice as they watched the boys in their suits line up for photos. As they watched, Toby murmured something in Jack's ear and suddenly the boys were grinning from ear to ear. They might even have pulled it off if not for the unhappiness still lurking in their eyes.

Carrie sighed softly. "We know tonight isn't going to be perfect for either of you. But you are going to be there with your friends, so at least try to have some fun. If not for them, then so that your girls don't feel guilty for not being with you when they hear all about it later."

"Nice one," Emily breathed softly.

Carrie acknowledged it with the slightest of quirks to her lips as she lifted her camera. Emily moved her own into position and ten minutes later, they waved goodbye as the boys got on the school bus that was running for that night only to ensure that all the children safely made it to and from the dance.

"I've been thinking about this, ever since Toby mentioned Georgie wasn't going to be here," Carrie said as they walked inside to the kitchen. Pouring a glass of wine for the both of them, she gestured them into the living room. "I heard that Arianna was also upset about not going to her school's end of year dance with Jack, and Gavin had fallen for a girl at another school as well after he met her at a track meet."

"So what's the solution?" Emily asked curiously.

"That's simple; we throw our own end of year dance."

"What a brilliant idea! Would the dance be for all the kids in the extended family?"

"No. I was thinking it should just be for the kids ten years and older. That way the target group likes similar types of music, bands and singers. No younger kids to tease them if guys dance with girls, and much easier for us to keep an eye on everyone."

"If you are inviting Henry, you'll need to include Danielle also."

Carrie looked surprised. "Are they getting that serious so soon?"

Emily laughed. "Not at all. But they do like each other, and considering Danielle was uninvited to every school dance throughout her schooling because she was just too young, it might be nice to give her that experience if she would like it. Where and when would you hold this dance?"

"I was thinking we could actually host the dance on New Year's Eve, from about seven to ten in the evening. Then we can all join in the usual family celebrations at your place. And since the youngest two will be over at your place already, I was thinking we could have it here. I am happy to host it on my own if you would prefer to be at yours what with everyone being over there, but if you want to help me supervise this thing, I would love a wing-woman."

"I'll need to check with Aaron, but barring any insurmountable objections, I would love to be your wing-woman. Shall we issue official invitations?"

Carrie grinned. "Let me go get my game plan.

New Year's Eve

Toby walked to the front door and opened it to find Georgie on the doorstep in a really pretty red dress and her normally straight hair in curls. He was still standing there looking at her admiringly when his mother joined them.

"Hi Georgie," she said with a warm smile as they embraced. "I was so sorry to hear about your grandma.

"Thanks Carrie. When Toby told me what you had planned for today, I was so very happy; I hated missing the dance at school. And since this will be the first happy event since the funeral, I have been really looking forward to it."

"I'm glad it was so well received by all the kids, and that it will help you to move forward. Now, when Toby remembers his manners and compliments you on how beautiful you look, because you do look beautiful, he'll take you inside to show you the setup. I'm going to have a quick word with your dad about tonight, since I am guessing he is still here for that reason."

Georgie blushed and giggled. "If the look on his face is for real, I think he likes how I look tonight. And I will start with the compliments since he appears to have swallowed his tongue." Carrie winked at her and headed out to the car, leaving the teenagers staring at each other. "You really do look very dashing Toby."

He blinked rapidly for a moment and then cleared his throat. "You do look absolutely gorgeous Georgie. And I'm really sorry about your grandma too."

Her shy smile turned sad briefly before brightening. "Thanks Toby. I really appreciated your skype call the day of the funeral; it really helped to know that I wasn't alone even though I was surrounded by family."

He shrugged, looking slightly uncomfortable. "I admit that dad was the reason I actually called; I was going to wait until the day after. But he lost his grandad before leaving India and he remembered being surrounded by his massive family and being so very alone because everyone was so focused on their grief that they forgot each other. He told me this and pointed out that the situation was similar enough that you might welcome the call."

"Well shall we go find him so that I can thank him for his wisdom?"

Toby smiled and nodded, holding out his arm to her. "We shall." A car pulled up out front as she placed her hand at his elbow. They both watched as Jack got out of the back and waved. They waved back as Jack was joined by Arianna and Emily and they all walked up the front path to where they stood. Like Carrie, Emily was dressed nicely, though they had both gone a slightly less dressy route than the teenagers were. Arianna on the other hand, was dressed in blue, with her slightly wavy ash-blonde hair pinned up in an elaborate design on the back of her head.

Toby moved to hug Jack and Ari, then moved on to Emily as Jack introduced his girlfriend to Georgie. The two teens immediately compared dresses and hair styles before the four of them disappeared inside. Emily headed over to where Carrie was talking with Georgie's dad and introduced herself, glad that he was still there since Georgie would be spending the night at her place for the first time. By the time Georgie's dad reversed out of the drive, content that his daughter was welcome and would be well cared for at what sounded like a massive family gathering, Mirkal was herding Wyatt and Alisha out the door. They bade each other to stay out of trouble and then as they drove off, Carrie and Emily went inside to get the last of the party set up before the rest of the young people arrived.

New Year's Day (Barely)

JJ and Will stood with Carrie and Mirkal watching the young people talk. The fireworks had just finished and the younger children were all snoozing in their various sleeping bags, but the older ones were still awake, no doubt buzzing from the dance that had occurred earlier in the evening.

"I heard that Henry and Danielle danced a lot tonight," JJ commented.

"They had their first dance with each other, which was utterly adorable because they were both really awkward, but they didn't dance together as much as some of the others. They did talk a lot though," Carrie explained. "Every time I looked over, the conversation was as animated as it is now. The others spent some time with them, but I think because Henry and Danielle are younger, and because they were struggling to keep up with Danielle's mind, they usually drifted away pretty quickly."

"Are you sayin' that Henry wasn't havin' the same problem?"

"Not to the same degree. I think because he talks with her more than just about anyone else that he has gotten good at following along with her thoughts. Then too, I listened to part of their conversation and I could be wrong, but I think Henry might be smarter than everyone gives him credit for. Because it sounded like he was keeping up with her just fine."

JJ and Will exchanged a look before JJ spoke. "It isn't a known fact, because the decision is ultimately Henry's, but they are talking about him skipping ahead. He's currently half way through year six; if he says yes, they'll put him in year eight for the rest of the year. If he struggles with that, he'll end up doing some summer studies in year seven work and he'll go into year eight after the summer. If he excels as well as they think he will, he'll start year nine after the summer, and possibly slide straight into year ten after the Christmas/New Year break."

"So he's really smart, just not quite at Danielle's level."

"Exactly. His IQ is currently hovering around the 145 range."

Carrie looked across to where the two youngsters were talking animatedly and whistled quietly. "No wonder they became friends."

"Exactly," JJ repeatedly as Emily walked in and suggested that everyone start changing for bed.

Carrie pushed away from the wall to check on Alisha and Wyatt, finding both snoozing happily in their sleeping bags in the living room and on the floor of their room respectively. She smiled at Mirkal, who was getting ready for bed himself, then walked back out to help Emily supervise as the house slowly settled down. They left the older children with warnings not to talk too long and after checking on the children who were now allowed to sleep unsupervised in the living room, they parted with a hug at the top of the stairs.

A few minutes after that, Carrie slid into bed beside Mirkal and they indulged in few long, slow kisses as the last of the noises in the house settled into quiet.

"It was nice to actually spend some time with Georgie this evening and get to know her. Our first meeting was pretty hasty considering I was rushing out the door for work at the time."

"What do you make of her?" she asked softly as she feathered her fingers through his hair.

"I think she is one of those genuinely beautiful people and not just on the outside, and I really hope they can go the distance, because Toby is so completely sweet on her that I can see his heart shattering if they break up for any reason."

"Mmm, I picked up on both of those points myself. She's reasonably quiet, very respectful and eager to help out. Emily and I had to keep shooing her back to Toby at the dance because she kept coming over to see if she could help. She seemed almost uncomfortable with the idea that the event was for her and the others and she didn't need to do anything to contribute in order to be a part of it."

"You know she's the youngest of eight right?" When Carrie affirmed this, Mirkal continued. "She's probably used to having chores and pitching in to help out in the running of the house, even though there is no one younger for her to care for. Which is a shame, because she was a natural with the youngsters."

Carrie laughed softly. "I just remembered, I overheard that she is going to teach some of the kids some martial arts moves tomorrow. Want to bet with me on how many of them want to take classes once she is done with them?"

New Year's Day 2020

The effort it took not to laugh at the concentration on the faces of the kids trying to coordinate their bodies in the simple moves that Georgie was trying to teach those who wanted to give martial arts a try was huge. Only a few of the children had said no to Georgie's offer; the rest were all ranged outside from shortest to tallest with Georgie standing at the front. She would demonstrate the move, and then move through the group as they repeated the move, correcting stances and doling out soft encouragements and compliments.

And because everyone was so very serious about trying as hard as they could to get it right, the adults had decided it was hands down the most entertaining thing they had seen in ages.

Early March 2020

"Toby, when I growed up, can I be a fireman?"

Toby looked up from the book he was reading and tried hard not to laugh. Wyatt was dressed in his bright yellow rain boots and raincoat, his obviously dressy black pants, and was wearing his Fireman Sam novelty 'protective' hat. What's more, he was trailing the garden hose which was thankfully not dripping with water but which was definitely leaving dirt in places.

Once he was sure he wouldn't laugh if he opened his mouth, he nodded his head solemnly. "Absolutely Wyatt. You can be whatever you like when you grow up."

Wyatt dropped the hose and climbed up beside his adored older brother. The noise of a bunch of little girls watching a movie in the family room was a background to the sounds his parents made in the kitchen as they cooked several of Alisha's favourite dishes in honour of her birthday. They had all been present at the party held at the park earlier in the day along with quite a few others. Now he got to be absent from the pinkness as she enjoyed a sleepover with her closest five friends. Wyatt had been in there as well despite her initial protests, and he wondered when his little brother had bailed and how long he had been working to put together his 'uniform'…and if he had been doing anything else while his parents were in the kitchen and he was distracted with his English reading assignment.

"What are you going to be when you growed up?"

Toby smiled and cuddled Wyatt close to him. "I'm not really sure yet, but maybe I'll do something with money, because I really like numbers."

"Ooh, I like numbers too. One, two, uh, um, four…"

Toby laughed softly. "Sounds like you're really getting the hang of that counting, though you missed three in between the two and the four." When Wyatt looked at him blankly, Toby smiled. "Let's count together, shall we?"

Wyatt nodded eagerly and watched him closely.

"One."

"One."

"Two."

"Two."

He got Wyatt all the way up to ten and then listened to his baby brother try to remember everything he had just said, his excitement when he got to ten evident.

"Yay! I counts to ten Toby, did you hear me?"

Toby grinned. "I did hear you, you were awesome!"

Wyatt bounced excitedly. "Maybe I no be fireman. Maybe I be numbers too!" And he slithered off the couch, gathered up his hose, and skipped off counting up to ten over and over again.

Toby indulged in a deep laugh, noted the conversation to repeat to his parents later, and returned to the far less engrossing story of the samurai in his book.

Same Day

"Did we really get an invitation to a child's birthday party two months early?" Mirkal asked curiously as he carefully added spices to the curry he was making, well aware that while his family loved it with a lot of heat, the other girls might not enjoy it quite so much.

Carrie laughed. "You know Austin. She plans everything in advance. Combine that with Reid's need to organise everything into patterns and you get a super-early invitation to the party of the century."

Mirkal snorted. "They're turning one. They aren't going to remember any of it."

"Ah, but I heard Austin has booked a photographer for the day who will also be professionally filming the birthday cake, song and blowing out of the first candles. So there will be plenty of evidence to build stories around as they grow up. And now you will be wondering about how three one-year-old girls will know to blow out the candles, am I right?" Mirkal nodded, a fascinated look on his face. "Austin and Reid have both been training them to blow on command."

Mirkal roared with laughter as Carrie joined him.

 **End**

 **Reviews are love and encouragement, even though I have been away for such a long time. Please consider the conveniently placed box right under these words making leaving a review easier than you think. You don't even need to sign in, though I'd love to be able to thank you for your kind words.**


	3. 3 The Reid's

**A/N: When I embarked on this particular part of the storyline, I was aware that I might have lost some of my readers to the great gap between posts and to the thought that I wasn't going to be posting anything more to the timeline. What I didn't expect was to come back to only two reviews in as many chapters. I'm not vain, but I do feel despondent about not getting a more robust response, as I really do thrive on the reviews; not receiving any at all does not encourage me to keep writing and I would really hate to have to stop now thinking no one is really interested in this ending to my longest-running work.**

 **As per the above, I have no one to thank as there were no reviews.**

 **To MissShawnaAlice and wtiger5, thank you doesn't cover fully how grateful I am to have the both of you on board with me; thanks for the flow and the medical advice that made this chapter great!**

 **WARNING: This chapter is definitely not light and fluffy like the two before it, but is filled with emotion and drama. It is also a little longer than my normal offering but that was necessary considering the content.**

 **DISCLAIMER: I don't own Criminal Minds at all, although they do own me. And the list of those I do own is getting so incredibly long that I am just going to say that I own anyone who does not come directly from Criminal Minds.**

Chapter 3 – The Reid's

Early May 2020

Spencer stopped moving, surprised to find that the world kept revolving around him. He had come inside for a drink after a rush of heat left him feeling light headed while he was talking with several of the dads in attendance. He stumbled over to a chair and sat down, listening to the laughter and shouting coming from the backyard. The triplets' first birthday party was in full swing, complete with a bouncy castle, water slide, clowns and face painters. They had invited the families from the mothers' group Austin had been attending since she had Mackenzie, and of course everyone from the BAU had been invited. And because most people had said yes, their backyard was overflowing with people and so was half of the house. Thankfully the kitchen was clear of people in that moment so he could rest quietly without being asked if he was alright.

Shaking his head with a frown, he got up as the world steadied. Making it to the fridge, he pulled out a bottle of water and headed back outside.

He was immediately accosted by Diana. "Daddy, Daddy, Daddy! You promised to go down the water slide with me."

Reid crouched down in front of her. "Did I? Are you sure? Because I don't remember saying that I would," he finished as he eyed her suspiciously, knowing she was too little to pick up on the laughter in his eyes. Austin ruffled his hair with a laugh as she walked past with Tabitha on her hip and Diana finally figured out that he was teasing her. Stamping her little foot, she planted her fists on her hips and said indignantly, "Daddy!"

He laughed after a moment, momentarily stunned by how much like her mother she looked in that moment and swept her up, zooming her around the groups of people on the way to the water slide as she squealed with glee. They ended up taking several rides down before Mackenzie interrupted, demanding that he slide with her. Diana kissed his cheek with a giggle and skipped off happily as Spencer bowed to his oldest girl.

"Milady."

She returned a wobbly curtsey. "Sir."

He ended up on the slide for the next hour, taking turns with a bunch of the kids, and eventually one run each with the triplets before everyone gathered for cake. The singing as the cake came out was raucous and joyful as he held Sienna on one hip and Catherine on the other, while Austin stood beside him with Tabitha. JJ brought the massive cake out with three solitary candles, one planted in each third while the photographer for the day stood there with the video camera, capturing the moment for them. They all 'hip-hip-hoorayed the girls and then it was the moment of truth time; could the girls perform in front of a large group of people.

The cheering as the three one-year-old Reid triplets blew out the candles on their cake on cue was easily heard up to six blocks away in every direction.

August 2020

Spencer waved goodbye to the last car pulling away from the front of the house and sighed in relief. He loved his extended family, he really did, but chasing children around the house, especially a super-excited-to-be-four-year-old that he still had running around hyped up on sugar was simply exhausting. He tracked down some painkillers for his headache as the sounds of Austin settling the triplets down with Mackenzie's help filtered through the house. When he turned away from the sink, he jumped slightly to find Diana right behind him.

He eyed her with a mock-suspicious look. "Did you turn into a ninja when I wasn't looking? Cause that was awfully quiet sneaking for you." He lunged at her and started tickling her, turning her silence into peals of giggles as he carried her into the living room. He dropped onto the couch and let her snuggle into him, delighting in her happy sigh as her arms closed around him.

"Daddy, I'm four now."

"Really? Are you sure?"

She giggled at him. "Yes I'm sure."

"Well how can you tell?"

"You told me."

"I did?" She laughed again at the look he pulled, nearly tumbling off of his lap before she settled down. "Okay," he continued. "So you are four now. What about it?"

"Mackenzie said when she turned four, she was allowed to play an instrument if she wanted to. Only she doesn't like music and wanted a basketball set instead. Which is soooooooo boring. So now that I am four, can I play an instrument?"

Spencer eyed the child on his lap as a sense of impending doom settled in his gut. But still, she was right about being allowed to play an instrument now that she had turned four if she wanted to so he took the plunge.

"Yes, you may choose an instrument to learn to play now that you are four."

Diana whooped. "Yes, yes, yes!" She shot him a beaming smile and doom settled more securely within him. "Daddy, I want to learn to play the violin."

Yes, the world as they knew it was going to end.

September 2020

"You're Spencer Reid right? Mackenzie's dad?"

Spencer turned to the woman that had moved up beside him. She was holding a whistle and a clipboard and had a broad smile on her face as she eyed him.

"Yes I am."

"I'm the girls' basketball coach Jeannie Miller. Your daughter is a natural Mr Reid. I've been doing this for about ten years now and at this age it has nothing to do with talent and everything to do with how cute the kids are as they attempt to play. Mackenzie is the first child I have ever seen who can consistently score a basket with at least every third shot she takes."

He grinned with pride as his eyes tracked to where his daughter was taking a shot. "My wife and I decided that at four years of age, she was old enough to play an instrument of her choice but Mackenzie wasn't interested in music. Instead, she asked us for a basketball set. She said she wanted to learn to play, that she'd seen the games on tv and one day she wanted to play professionally. We indulged her and granted her request, thinking she was probably going to lose interest pretty quickly but at least the basketball set was cheaper than an instrument and the lessons that came with it. Three years later, you can see how much interest she has lost along the way."

Jeannie grinned at him. "Yes I can. She's going to be such a joy to coach. I'd recommend getting a season pass Mr Reid, because I have no doubt that years from now your girl is going to be on a national team somewhere and you are going to want to say that you were there from the beginning as she starts winning medals and trophies."

Late November 2020

Snow had come early that year, just a short-lived blizzard overnight, a once in a lifetime opportunity for fun in the snow in autumn, and the whole group had decided to take advantage of it for a tobogganing adventure to their favourite hill. Hours after they arrived, the kids (and some of the adults) were still enthralled with the joy of racing down the hill. Austin had taken a run with each of her daughters, and had talked Spencer into a ride with her before they handed the toboggan over to Mackenzie.

Now they stood and talked at the top of the hill with both sets of Hotchners, the Morgans and Will. Dave stood at the bottom of the hill talking with Brad, the Scotts and the Renhwahs while JJ, Teresa, Kelly, Penelope and Kevin continued to take runs along with the kids, allowing the younger ones to continue to enjoy the thrill of the ride as well.

Austin had been watching her husband for the last few weeks in general, and the last hour in particular. Something was off with him and she couldn't put her finger on what it was. Worse, was the thought that she should know what it was but it hovered just outside of her memory. She had asked of course, but Spencer just kept saying that he was fine, when clearly he wasn't. Right now he was pale, his breathing was changing by the moment and he was beginning to sweat, despite the coolness of the day.

Deciding that enough was enough, she pulled out her phone and sent a text to Brad, saying she thought something might be wrong and could he come check her husband out. She stayed tuned in to the conversation going on around her as she watched Brad check his phone before he spoke to his group and started up the hill, keeping a careful watch out for the toboggans that frequently raced down past him as he climbed.

She was watching him so closely that she completely missed the signs as Spencer passed out and started tumbling down the slope. Screaming in fear, she didn't hesitate to start running down after him, hearing others behind her even as the group at the bottom of the hill reacted to assist. Brad got to him first, stopping his tumble halfway and quickly clearing his face of snow as he started trying to get a response. Austin somehow managed to stop just short of them, moving closer with a small sob.

Brad shot her a brief look before he resumed his check. "Can someone call 911 for me please? What can you tell me Austin?"

"Not a lot…" her voice trailed off as something twigged in her memory and she moaned in fear. "Oh hell…the tumour!"

"Tumour?"

"Not cancerous. Happened shortly before Kelly came onto the team, so that's why you wouldn't know about it. I've been so stupid! All the signs were there from the last time but I forgot. I forgot and now it's probably back and they'll have to operate again and…"

"Honey, slow down," Emily soothed as she pulled the younger woman into her arms. "The surgery last time was clean and simple. No complications. He was in and out of hospital pretty quickly and back at work in a few weeks."

"Where was it?"

"At the base of his skull, top of his spine," Aaron responded softly.

Brad moved his hands up to feel the back of Spencer's head as Austin watched tearfully. With a heavy sigh, Brad shook his head. "I don't think it is going to be so uncomplicated this time around. Tests will obviously be needed, but what I am feeling back here tells me this thing is huge, and that his spine might very well be compromised. How long are they saying the ambulance will be?"

Penelope sniffled softly as Kevin answered. "They aren't sending an ambulance. We're too far out and it would take too long considering what I've told them. They are sending a medical chopper which will land up in the cleared area where we are parked, so we should all move our cars as far off to the side as we can. The chopper will be about forty-five minutes as it is due to a need to refuel first. Apparently it has been a very busy day for them."

Austin moaned, clinging tightly to Emily as she started crying. "The other week, we were grocery shopping. He said the trolley jostled him, but he wasn't that close to it when he dropped the carton of eggs. And during the week, I found him just sitting on the couch. He wasn't doing anything, and he wasn't in a hurry to move either. He distracted me by pulling me down for a cuddle and conversation, but when we did move, he needed help to stand up and then he was unsteady as he moved. He laughed it off and said he just had pins and needles down his legs, but he wasn't sitting on them. I shrugged off both incidents because he said he was fine. Why did I do that?"

"Because we trust the men in our lives to tell us the truth," Jordan offered softly as she huddled in against Derek.

Emily nodded. "Honey, this isn't your fault. Spencer should have been honest with you about what was going on, especially after the last time. And yes, maybe you should have pushed when you grew concerned, but I know the two of you have same-page conversations on a regular basis, so he should have brought it up and told you he was worried about something. That he didn't is on him. But it is also senseless to lay blame anywhere, so let's just breathe and wait on answers."

Brad nodded his agreement. "You should go and reassure your girls that I will take good care of their father. And you should all work it out among you who will be taking the girls while Austin is at the hospital."

"I'm going to the hospital to sit with Austin," Emily said firmly.

"I also want to be at the hospital while we wait for answers," Derek agreed and JJ chimed in the same as Austin slowly made her way towards her distraught children, standing with the older kids watching over them. She pulled herself together long enough to comfort them all, amused despite her fear to hear an argument breaking out as to who would be looking after her five in amongst the sound of cars being moved. In the end, Esther and Sean won on the principal that they only had the one child to look after, and he had a travel cot that they could easily bring with them to the Reid's house. That settled, Sean took her keys and moved her car for her as she made her way back down to where Brad watched over Spencer.

"I don't like leaving him in the snow with a possibility of frostbite, but I don't want to risk compromising his spinal cord either," Brad was saying as she returned.

"How about making a backboard from a toboggan and some scarves?" Cameron suggested as he knelt next to the doctor. "Then we just need something sturdy to brace his head and neck with."

"That will work," Brad agreed with a relieved smile. "Anyone got some books or small boxes in their cars?"

"Spencer always has several books of some sort in the car with him. I..um..I can go look and see what we have," Austin replied shakily as she unwound her scarf and handed it over.

"I'll do it," Lydia said with a reassuring hug and after handing over her own scarf grabbed the keys and scurried toward the parking area. Austin watched as Brad directed Cameron and Derek in rolling Spencer onto one of the now abandoned sleds. She quickly returned with two thick tomes in her hands. "Will these work?"

"Perfect!" Brad quickly secured his patient with scarves provided by the team. He glanced over at Cameron as he worked. "How did you come up with this?"

"Deployment. We used spare ammo boxes as a c-collar one time when one of my guys got hurt. You use what you've got in the field."

Once Spencer was secured, there was nothing left to do other than wait for the chopper to arrive. She took the time to brief Esther and Sean on all they needed to know, handed over her keys and promised to keep them in the loop so that they could reassures the girls along the way. Sean went to their car and removed Isaac's car seat, then handed over their keys to Emily.

By the time the chopper arrived, the sun was setting and everyone else had headed home with the children. She stood with Emily and JJ on either side of her, and watched as Brad and Derek assisted the paramedics with bringing Spencer the rest of the way up the slope before they carefully moved him from the toboggan to a backboard, replacing the makeshift support around his head and neck with a c-collar. Brad climbed into the chopper which headed off a few minutes after that while the four of them piled into the car and headed back toward the city as fast as they dared while Austin prayed that the situation wasn't as bad as Brad feared.

Early the Next Morning

It was far worse than he had feared.

Brad watched as Austin sobbed heavily in Derek's arms, her heart breaking after being given the news that not only was the tumour inoperable, but the husband she loved more than life was going to die sometime in the next few days without ever waking up. Derek cried silently while he held her and Emily and JJ clung to each other a short distance away.

He lifted a hand and wiped at his own tears as his colleague and friend walked toward him.

"I absolutely hate days like this," Evan Stuart muttered as he turned to look back at what he'd done.

Brad nodded in sympathy, but murmured, "Do you know who Walt Bennett is?"

"Of course," Evan replied. "He's one of the best neurosurgeons in the field anywhere in the world, and is hands down the best in this country."

"He's also a close friend. Would you mind if I send the test results through to him and ask him to take a look at them?"

Evan watched the scene going on down the hall, misery written all over his face. "They have children, don't they?"

Brad nodded. "Five girls. The oldest is seven."

"Send them through to Doctor Bennett. I'll be praying that he can pull off the miracle that I can't."

Brad nodded and turned away, walking down to the nearby window with the pre-dawn view of the city laid out before him. He knew it was incredibly late in Los Angeles, but this was too important to force more than the briefest of hesitations before he hit the call button. He rested his head against the glass as he listened to the ringing sound, relishing the cold as a couple more tears slid down his face.

Walt's voice was groggy, but at least he had answered. "Brad? What are you doing calling me at such a godawful time?"

Brad's voice was hoarse in reply. "A good friend of mine has just been given a death sentence. His wife has less than a week to reconcile becoming a widow and his five girls are shortly going to be fatherless. Considering where the tumour is placed, I was hoping you might look at the test results and give us a second opinion."

"Of course Brad. Send them through and I'll look at them straight away. The email address is the same."

"I remember. Thank you."

He disconnected the call and went to find Evan. His fellow doctor was in his office and already had all the test results attached to an email, along with a few notes. Brad shot him a grateful smile and added in the email address. He fell into a chair as Evan sent the email out and waited quietly, trying not to descend too deeply into a funk as Evan worked quietly across from him. When his phone rang almost an hour later, he flinched before reaching for it. Evan stopped working to send him an encouraging look and taking a breath he answered.

The Next Night

Austin climbed onto the bed beside Spencer, careful of all the leads and cords surrounding him but needing these few minutes to be close to him. Resting her upper body on one arm, she stretched out her other arm to gently stroke a hand through his hair.

"Hey baby. They're a bit uncertain as to whether you can hear me or not, but I am going to talk anyway. Spencer?" She waited a moment, not sure what she expected, but when nothing happened she sighed heavily. "The thing that is killing me the most is that I can't remember whether I told you how much I love you that day. I know I said I love you, but I've been asking myself how much true emotion I put behind that sentiment, or whether I just take it for granted that you will just know how much I mean it.

"Anyway, I remember the last time this happened, with you lying so pale on the bed, surrounded by machines beeping and tubes keeping you alive. You woke up, looked at me and smiled, and I could breathe for the first time since they wheeled you away. So you _need_ to wake up, baby, because I haven't been able to breathe for two days." She dropped her head to his chest, crying for a few minutes before she lifted her head. "Dammit Spence, wake up!"

Sobs tore through her yet again as her head dropped back. Then hands were on her, gently lifting her off of the bed. She was briefly aware of Brad holding her before Derek was there yet again, her rock, even as he himself dealt with his own shattered feelings. He moved them out of the way as a team of medical experts walked in and started prepping Spencer for surgery. She'd been told the chances of success were extremely slim, that the operation that wasn't supposed to be possible was probably going to kill him even faster than the tumour would.

But at least there was a chance, slim though it may be.

Yesterday there had been none.

When Brad had come back to her yesterday, she'd been a mess, sitting on the floor with her back to the wall and her head on Derek's shoulder, still crying almost two hours after she'd been given the news that there was nothing they could do. She would have been crying at Spencer's bedside only they hadn't yet allowed her into the room with him. Emily and JJ had left to share the news with the others so that she wouldn't have to be bothered with it. The only thing to get through her grief was when Derek murmured that Sean and Esther could stay for as long as they were needed.

Brad had knelt down in front of her and gently wiped at the wet drops on her face. Her laugh had been rusty and humourless.

"Don't bother with them, there are way more where they came from."

His smile was sad, the evidence of his own tears threatening to make her cry harder all over again. "I make no promises. But my friend is one of the world's best surgeons and will be flying in from LA first thing in the morning. He wants a few tests repeated from a different perspective, which they are going to do now so they are ready when he gets here, but he is convinced that he might be able to pull off a miracle with Spencer."

Seeing the light of hope is his eyes, she'd thrown herself at him and sobbed yet again. But balancing her terrible grief now was the slimmest ray of hope and that hope had yet to be dashed. She knew she might very well be burying her husband and raising her five girls all by herself regardless of what happened in that surgical room. But for now, she held on to the hope that maybe, just maybe, she could take her beloved home with her one day soon.

Christmas Day

Austin listened to the Christmas carols her girls were singing. Even the youngest three had been taught some of the words and were singing with gusto. Mackenzie had been a little unsure, but Diana had insisted that singing to their dad was the only way to wake him up, so of course she was all in and giving it everything she had. But she'd had to choke back a laugh when she'd overheard the confident four-year-old mutter as she walked into the room that it would be their _bad_ singing that woke him up when he told them to shut it, but wasn't that beside the point?

Spencer had survived the surgery, and Dr Bennett had been pleased with how the marathon session had gone. Her husband's responses to stimuli had been sluggish but there and the tests showed that the tumour had been removed cleanly and the site was draining properly. Everyone had been so overjoyed, though no one as much as her, and she had settled in to wait for the moment when he woke up and she could tell him that everything was going to be alright.

But that moment hadn't come.

Days after the surgery, when Spencer had been fully weaned off of the anaesthetic and should have woken up, further tests showed that he had slipped into a coma. Brain activity remained strong, and he continued to respond to stimuli, but for reasons they couldn't pinpoint, he hadn't returned to them as expected. Almost four weeks later and there was still no change. And though she was desperate for him to wake up and return to her, to them, she contented herself with the knowledge that at least he was alive.

There was still hope.

She continued setting the presents out in piles for each child, smiling sadly as she came across the ones addressed to Spencer. Being here today had been Mackenzie's idea, so that even if their dad 'slept' through the whole event, just by being in the same room with him they could share their traditions as they usually did.

 _Both the good ones_ and _the bad ones_ , she thought with a wince as a particularly off key note was strung out.

Finally deciding that enough was enough, and with a last wistful glance at the man lying so still on the bed, she called the girls over to the couch and got the present giving underway.

January

Diana skipped into the room, careful not to swing her violin case too much. Aware her mum and uncle Brad were watching her through the large glass window, she very carefully used the chair beside the bed to climb up without knocking into anything.

"Morning Daddy. Mummy says I'm not allowed to play you anything on my violin, but I figured I could at least bring it in with me. _She says_ that my playing is getting better, but it is still not quite good enough for a wider audience yet. I'm not sure I like hearing that, but she promised to let me play for _everyone_ as soon as I can play and not screech. Her words, not mine."

Muffled laughter drew her gaze to the window, and she waved at uncle Derek who now stood with an arm around her mum while uncle Brad did something on his phone before turning back to her dad.

"On the plus side, I actually played three whole notes without screeching just yesterday. I was so excited I danced around the whole house before Mummy reminded me that my teacher was still here and I should get back to my lesson. But then when the teacher left, Mummy cuddled me and said she was proud of me and that you would be proud of me too." She pushed the case to the end of the bed and rested her head on her father's chest. "Daddy, I wish you would wake up and tell me how proud of me you are. I miss you."

When she turned at her mother's soft touch on her shoulder, she found herself crying as she was gently carried out of the room.

February

"She wants to go left but the opposition is already there. But what's this? She breaks to the right through a gap and straight to the hoop. She shoots, she scores for the win! And the crowd goes wild." She made faint cheering noises as she moved around the room in an approximation of a victory lap before carefully climbing up on the bed.

"Hey Daddy. It's Mackenzie, in case you didn't know. We made the finals, my team and I. Everyone is saying that they couldn't have done it without me. Of course, everyone has also been saying that at seven and eight years old, we aren't really that good at playing, and it is all about the cuteness factor. Clearly they're wrong, because our team is actually scoring points when we play. That's good right?"

She looked hopefully at her father, lying so still on the bed before she sighed heavily. "Daddy, please wake up. I really want you to be there at my first ever finals game. I miss your hugs, and the fun we used to have beating Mum and Diana at all the games we played. I just miss you Daddy...Daddy?"

Pushing back the tears that wanted to fall, she lay down with her head on her father's heart.

"Please God, if you're there, I know my Daddy doesn't believe you exist but my Mummy does. Since you're not allowed to keep him because we need him more, please send my Daddy back to us. Please?"

Late February

"Hey baby," Austin said softly as she walked into the room that had become her second home over the last three months. She kissed him gently and spent a few minutes stroking his hair before she headed for the window to peer out at the light dusting of snow on the landscaped lawns below.

"Another crazy weekend has passed in the Reid household without you. Mackenzie's team won the final; I nearly burst with pride when she stepped up to receive her first ever trophy. And before you ask, yes; I did record the entire game _and_ the triumphant moment the trophy was received. Coach Miller says we should start putting shelves in Mackenzie's room now for all the trophies that are going to follow. I took her advice and spoke to Derek. He spent half an hour arguing with our girl on how it should look. I don't need to tell you who won, do I?

"Diana continues to get better with her violin on a daily basis. She finally figured out the difference in her form between what produces the screech and what makes a note. The notes of course are still choppy, but she is now slowly producing scales as she plays, and she is already planning her first concert for everyone, even though she can't play actual songs yet. You are of course the guest of honour, so unless you are waking up anytime soon, she'll have time to learn a piece or two before her grand debut.

"The triplets are three months off of their second birthday and it is crazy the difference a year has made. Their personalities are really starting to shine through, and I can already tell that Sienna is going to drive us nuts. She has not a single bone in her body afraid of anything. I actually found her attempting to climb a tree after she watched Diana and Mackenzie scramble up before her. The girls started shouting for me and I thought something was end of the world wrong the way they were carrying on until I got out there and figured it out. If you don't count the part where my heart stopped beating for a few moments, it really wasn't that bad. In fact, I was even a little proud of how far she got, though I scolded her anyway in the hopes that I can hold off on her first broken bone for a bit longer.

"Tabitha is the super quiet one…" she stopped talking as a soft groan hit her ears. Turning away from the window, she almost burst into tears to see Spencer with his eyes open and a pained look on his face. Rushing to the bed, she hit the call button and gently stroked his face.

"Hey you. Don't try to move or speak or anything. The doc will be here soon enough." She dropped her head for a moment, wiping up a few tears before she laughed. "Geez Spence, you scared half of my life away with all of this. I know I said not to talk, but promise me that you won't do this ever again."

The look of confusion on his face made her want to shield him from all the poking and prodding to come. His words had her reeling back in shock as pain ricocheted through her.

"Who are you?"

Tears beginning to course down her cheeks, she shoved out of the room past Brad and the others trying to get into the room. She ignored Brad's call after her and made for the ladies' room, locking herself in and wrapping her arms tight around her waist as she sank to the ground. She'd been so sure that when Spence woke up that everything would be a little rocky initially, but the world would be back on its proper axis. Instead, the world was spinning out of control. She stayed where she was until the shaking eased enough that she was sure she wouldn't completely lose it when she stood, washed her face and stepped out of the room to find Brad waiting for her.

He tugged her into his arms and murmured softly, "It isn't unusual for a coma patient to have short term amnesia when they wake up. In Reid's case, his was very short term. He started asking about you a few minutes after you ran out."

A single sob escaped her as she pushed upright and started moving for the room. Brad's hand tugging gently at hers brought her forward movement to a halt.

"There's more Austin. Though we think it might be psychosomatic considering his previous responses to external stimuli, Spencer is currently paralysed and not responsive. He's freaking out about it naturally, and is panicking over the realisation he had that he didn't remember you immediately. He saw how devastated you were before you ran out of the room and it has hit him hard. It didn't help that one of the nurses told him that he'd been unconscious for three months and you'd been by his side the whole time."

She turned back to him with a sad smile. "Nothing you have said is insurmountable. He's alive, Brad, and he has come back to me. And yes, it hurt more than I can put into words that he didn't know who I was; so much so that I needed a few minutes to catch my breath. But whatever he needs now, even if for some reason he _is_ actually paralysed for the rest of his life, at least he has me in his corner. Because I _never_ give up on those I love." Pulling her hand gently out of his, she headed back to her husband's side with a strong determination to affect the best outcome for everyone.

Early March

Two weeks had passed since he had woken up, and he had initially been inundated with visitors, most of whom had cried at least a little to see him awake. The knowledge that he had been in a coma for three months chilled him, though he was far angrier with his memory for the pain he had caused his wife when his initial confusion had kept him from recognising her straight away. Lucky for him this was Austin they were talking about. She'd walked back into his room with a sunny smile on her face and had been unshakeable ever since, convinced that no matter what happened, nothing was impossible.

He was currently on his own for the first time it seemed since he had woken up. And though he relished the quiet, he was just a little scared at being on his own and unable to move. In fact, the more he thought about it, the more he desperately wanted someone to come into his room so that he would no longer be alone. Not liking the feeling a bit, since he hadn't felt that way since he was a child, he reached up and pressed the call button, then lifted his hand to where he could see it, shocked that it had actually moved.

He was still staring at it when Evan walked into the room and grinned hugely at him. A few minutes later, they had confirmed that all feeling had returned and he was responding well to stimuli. Evan moved to the end of the bed to make some notes on his chart.

"What got you to try to move today?"

Spencer felt like squirming. "It's going to sound stupid."

"I highly doubt that, considering it moved your progress forward by a huge leap."

He sighed softly. "I was enjoying the quiet of being alone until it struck me that I was also afraid of being alone. I don't know why it hit as hard as it did, but I realised that I hadn't felt that kind of fear since I was a child and I didn't like it."

"So you did something about it. That's good Spencer, and nothing to be ashamed of. Think of the joy on your wife's face when she arrives shortly and you can reach out to give her a hug."

A smile lit his face at the thought, though it didn't last long. "I doubt that I'll be hugging her anytime soon. I feel exhausted by just the little bit you put me through just now, and while I think I could pull up a hug for her, I don't think I'd have the energy to hug anyone else and that would crush the kids."

Evan shrugged. "Then just hold her hand, or turn your head, something small. I bet tears of joy look a whole lot different to tears of sadness."

"On her there is no comparison."

"Well there you go then."

Early April

Austin proudly watched Spencer make his slow way around the room. His physical therapist walked beside him, ready to play catch if necessary, but it was obvious that only his stamina had yet to return as he settled back down on the bench beside her in the therapy room.

"That was amazing babe, great job!"

His tired smile had her gently bumping her head against his shoulder in encouragement as Rafe echoed her sentiment.

"That really was great work Spencer. I know it feels like a marathon now, but keep up that progress you have made over the last few weeks and we'll have you home in time for your triplets second birthdays. Now take a minute to catch your breath and then we'll try something a little more challenging."

Contentment settled over the both of them as he went to set up the next walk with obstacles to be navigated around.

Late April 2021

Spencer watched Austin driving the car that would finally take him home and just knew that he wasn't going to get away with a quiet return.

"Whose idea was the surprise welcome home party?"

Austin flinched slightly and shot him a guilty look. "Derek initiated everything. I did try really hard to talk him out of the party, but he insisted that it was necessary. It's nothing huge or over the top, just the BAU family and lunch and they promised not to stay for too long. I wasn't supposed to say anything, but you look tired and I'm feeling really guilty that I can't just take you home and snuggle down with you for a nap and I guess it showed."

He sighed heavily as he carefully dropped his head back against the headrest, but knowing that it wasn't his wife's fault that he couldn't just sleep when he got home had him holding his hand out to her. She took it quickly, gently lifting it up to kiss the back of it. Then she smiled mischievously at him. "Since we have a myriad of babysitters back at the house, we could always boycott the party and find a hotel somewhere for that nap."

He laughed softly as he relaxed. "Much as I would love to do that, if everyone made something to contribute to lunch, I'm going to feel terrible if I don't show. No, we'll go, though I refuse to act surprised, and we'll kick everyone out early. Besides, I doubt I'll be awake a few hours from now."

She laughed with him and nodded. "Alright. I really am sorry about this."

"Not your fault love." They completed the drive in companionable silence. He snorted when he saw the house with the streamers, balloons and 'Welcome Home' banner and the street surrounded by familiar cars. "That is _not_ a surprise party."

"Maybe they changed their minds about the surprise part. Either that or someone talked Derek out of it."

"I'll kiss whoever that is."

Austin grinned as she pulled the car into the drive. She waited patiently while he eased himself from the car, knowing he needed to reassert his independence after being cared for over the last five months, even if he was unconscious for three of those months and therefore unaware. She also knew that as stubborn as he could be, he would ask her for help if he actually needed it.

The front door was open as they slowly made their way up the walk, Derek leaning against the doorframe with a welcoming smile. That didn't last long as a group of bodies came out shrieking "Daddy!" at the tops of their lungs, pushing his friend to the side as he laughed. Spencer fell to his knees with a laugh of his own and enveloped all five of his girls in one massive hug, glad at last to be home with the chaos they engendered. It took a few minutes to get everyone untangled and moving back into the house, at which point he reached out to Austin for help, grateful that she was there with her warm, approving smile letting him know she was truly happy to help.

"Welcome home pretty boy."

"I believe I have you to thank for forcing me to be social when all I want to do is sleep off the exhaustion of actually leaving the hospital."

Derek shrugged. "We'll invade long enough to see you are fed, keeping your girls distracted so that your food is hot and then most of us will head out."

"Most of you?"

He grinned. "I will stay with my lot to look after your lot while you and Austin sleep this afternoon. We can either leave just before dinner or we can stay as a buffer until the day is over, your choice."

Spencer studied the older man for a long moment, seeing his relief overlying his worry. Reaching out, he enveloped Derek in a hug. Austin smiled at them as she walked into the house, leaving them out on the porch. Derek finally pulled back and shook his head, then gently punched Spencer in the arm.

"Hey!"

"That's for scaring the living daylights out of me pretty boy."

"I didn't ask for that tumour to come back. And I definitely didn't ask for the surgery to put me in a coma. So how is this my fault."

"You were involved."

Spencer grumbled about the unfairness of the situation as they moved into the house. He was grateful as he slipped out of his jacket that the noise was somewhat quiet around him, since loud noises still bothered him a lot. Austin had obviously warned everyone about that, and about not overwhelming or crowding him. He could hear the kids out back laughing as they played, but all the adults were in the kitchen and dining areas waiting to greet him. After making his way around the group, he frowned at Derek.

"Where's Jordan?"

"Home with gastro. I offered to stay home and look after her and she practically shoved me out the door. I was informed that if I stuck around and got what she had she would kick my butt, especially if the boys got sick too. So after making sure that she was resting as comfortably as possible, we left her behind to come over here and celebrate your homecoming."

"I heard a few days ago at the hospital that someone had come to visit a patient and a day after that, an entire ward was quarantined to stop the bug from spreading."

Brad groaned. "Let's not get started on the GI bug going around. It's just about to make the news because of how quickly it is spreading around the city. It isn't that surprising that one of us would get it when they are talking about a one in ten ratio of those afflicted at the moment. The current theory is that this bout is attached to a virus. I'm really hoping they are wrong, but..."

"Enough talk about disgusting bodily functions," Emily interrupted firmly. "The children will be eating outside. We're taking food out to them in a minute and then we can all hopefully eat in relative peace. Then we will get out of your hair because my darling Reid, you look terrible."

Spencer wrapped his arms around Emily and squeezed lightly. "Thanks Em. That sums up how I feel perfectly."

Everyone laughed and moved to take seats around the table, causing him to blink at the realisation that additional table space had been created and extra chairs brought in to ensure that there was adequate space, since their place wasn't normally used as a gathering spot for the whole group. As lunch was served up, Austin explained where all the extras had come from.

An hour and a half later, he was practically asleep on his feet as everyone filed out, hugs coming from all angles as they said goodbye. After making sure that Derek had everything under control, Austin wrapped an arm around his waist and helped him up the stairs and five minutes later, he fell asleep wrapped up in the comfort of being back home and in the arms of the woman who completed him.

 **End**

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	4. 4 The Morgan's

**A/N: Writing and posting might slow down a bit for the next little while due to several reasons, but I am still going to continue to try to get these out in a better timeframe than some previous postings have happened.**

 **At my last chapter, I had no one to thank for reviews, which was extremely depressing. But after posting I was inundated and am definitely happier about continuing on. I am exceeding grateful for reviews for the last chapter from ahowell1993, zhangxinna, Wtiger5 and VLJH. To Hippiechic81: you completely blew me away when you reviewed just about all of the NPH series over several days, so thank you. Thank you to everyone for your reviews and encouragement to continue on with this series.**

 **WARNING: This chapter has just a touch of drama but is otherwise all family fluff.**

 **DISCLAIMER: I don't own Criminal Minds at all, although they do own me. And the list of those I do own is getting so incredibly long that I am just going to say that I own anyone who does not come directly from Criminal Minds.**

Chapter 4 – The Morgan's

Late April 2021

Derek pulled the car into the drive and narrowed his eyes. The porch light was off, which was extremely unusual; even when she was at her sickest, Jordan always had the light on for him when he got home. And there were lights on all along the top of the house; it looked like only the boys' bedrooms were shrouded in darkness.

"Mum didn't turn the light on for us at the front door," Ben said worriedly.

Derek shot him a brief smile. "You noticed that too huh?"

Ben nodded. "And mum never leaves that many lights on all at the same time if we aren't in that space."

"That is certainly true. Let's go see what is going on."

Ben nodded agreement and turned to gently shake Ryan awake, while Derek moved to collect Jonathan, who was sound asleep. Inside the house, he went straight up to his youngest son's room to get him settled into bed, listening intently as Ben and Ryan went to find their mum. The shrieks that started up minutes later had him deeply grateful that Jonathan was already lying on the bed as he bolted in the direction of all the noise. He ran into Ryan as he entered the master bedroom, the boy crying heavily. Hearing Ben talking in the bathroom, he steadied his middle son and hurried across the room with him right on his heels.

Ben was kneeling in vomit with Jordan's head up on his lap. The vomit was on the side of her face and in her hair and if he had to guess, she had been lying in it for a while. He was relieved to see that she was conscious, but she was also as pale as he had ever seen her and she was sweating profusely as well. He ran a soothing hand down the back of Ryan's head and gently sent the boy off to cover up his little brother. Careful of the mess on the floor, he crouched down to look at Jordan.

"Hey baby. This doesn't look so good, what happened?"

It took a moment for her eyes to focus on him, a moment too long for his liking. "Derek. What time is it?"

"It's just gone nine."

She licked her lips and grimaced. "Yuck. I thought about trying some toast for dinner, or maybe some crackers, but the smell made me ill. So I had a bit of water and the next thing I knew I felt like I was going to throw up again. So I came up here, was sick, brushed my teeth and had a bit more water and then I was sick again but I never made it to the toilet. The next thing I knew the boys were here screaming."

Worry started to edge towards fear as he thought. "So all you've had today is water?"

"Yes," she whispered.

"Okay," he soothed gently. "I'm going to call for an ambulance, because if you are vomiting water, you are losing fluids you can't afford while you're sick. I think you need a drip to help you with your hydration, and they may be able to give you something to deal with the vomiting too."

Her eyes drifted closed. "That would be lovely," she whispered.

He looked at Ben and dredged up a reassuring smile. "You doing okay son?"

Ben nodded jerkily and Derek pulled out his phone and called for help. The realisation that he couldn't go with Jordan unless he found someone to look after the boys tugged at him as he hung up from the 911 call. After giving it a little thought, he called Sean. Explaining the situation, he was assured that either he or Esther would be there shortly and would stay the night if needed.

Esther turned up just as the ambulance was pulling away. She kissed his cheek and hugged him before pushing him towards his car.

"Ryan and Ben found her, so they may need to talk a bit. Jonathan slept through the whole thing, so if I'm not back when he wakes in the morning, just tell him whatever you think he needs to know. Think three-year-old instead of four."

"Got it. Go on now, I have this under control. And message me to let me know if she's okay."

He nodded and headed off, arriving at the hospital just minutes after the ambulance and doing his best not to panic as a nurse showed him back to one of the curtained off cubicles. The paramedics had inserted the drip at the house, and it was obvious that this had made a difference because Jordan's smile was steadier as her eyes landed on him and her colour was better. He moved to her side, relieved to also hear that she sounded more coherent as she spoke with the doctor.

An hour later and Jordan had been settled in a private room. He dropped, exhausted, into the chair beside her bed and ran a hand over the top of his head before taking the hand that Jordan held out to him.

"We should pray that the boys don't get this," Jordan said softly with a yawn.

Derek snorted. "Pray that _I_ don't get this. Happily, I don't get sick all that often, but we both know how badly I react to being sick."

Her smile was filled with just a little cheek as she replied, "Yep…you turn into a whiny man-child."

The look on his face as she exploded into a fit of giggles was priceless.

Late May 2021

"Stupid gastro," Jordan muttered as she looked at the two lines on the pregnancy test in her hand. "Stupid gastro bringing up the stupid pill." Sighing heavily, she tossed the test, washed her hands and made an appointment for that afternoon with her GP.

Hours later, she listened to the boisterous game of Twister being played out in the living room while she put away the dishes, amused to hear that Jonathan might just be winning that game. Closing the last cupboard door, she walked toward the noise and leaned against the doorframe, pulling out her phone to take a couple of photos before she was spotted.

"Mum, Mum! Come play with us!"

Laughing, she shook her head. "Not on your life Ryan. Every time I get in there, I somehow end up at the bottom of the pile. Anyway, it is Jonathan's bedtime, and you and Ben need to go and get in your PJ's for some quiet time." At the chorus of negativity, she rolled her eyes. "You can finish your game first."

She managed not to laugh as the game seemed to slow down to a crawl, turning instead to tidying up the living areas so that she could leave it alone as soon as the kids were in bed. But finally everyone was sorted out and she was alone with Derek.

She watched him approach, extremely turned on as he climbed onto the bed with her. Taking the initiative, she rolled over on top of him and pinned him. He smiled up at her and stole her breath with a searing kiss before he settled down under her.

"You've been biting your tongue since I got home and I'm dying of curiosity to know what you wouldn't say in front of the children."

She grinned. "You actually just played perfectly into my topic of conversation for the evening."

"What? Something about the children?"

"Yes."

She watched him frown, as he tried to figure out what she was getting at. "The kids all seem fine, and as far as I know, Jonathan's next appointment with the case worker isn't until next month."

"That's correct," she agreed placidly as she lightly rocked her hips, pleased when his body responded despite his growing confusion.

"Alright, I give up baby. What about the children?"

"We need to do some remodelling work on the spare room."

"Huh? What on earth does that have to do with the children? I mean, there isn't anything wrong with the spare room."

"Oh, I agree. The spare room is fine as it is for adult visitors. It definitely needs some work to get it ready for a baby."

"A…oh hell. You're pregnant?"

She laughed at the stunned look on his face. "Took you long enough. I think it was the gastro interfering with the pill, and my GP confirmed this; I'm about six weeks pregnant."

He rolled her over onto her back and pinned her. "Are you okay with this? Because I remember our conversation after Jonathan was born."

A shadow of sadness passed over her. "I remember," she said softly. "I know I was pretty adamant that I really didn't want to risk losing another child. We were on the same page there completely. But how can I be sad about a baby we created out of the love we have for each other?" The sadness passed and she spread her legs further apart to allow him to get closer as a smile came over her face. "Besides, maybe I'll get lucky this time and we'll have a girl."

He snorted. "Please; that was your hope with the last two pregnancies and look where that got us."

Sighing mournfully, she nodded solemnly. "You're right, I'm now surrounded by testosterone."

He laughed for a moment before dropping his head and claiming her. An hour passed before they curled up against each other.

"You're happy right?" Jordan asked softly. "About the baby?"

He tightened his hold. "I'm thrilled Jordan. As long as you're both okay."

"Good," she whispered. "I love you."

Nuzzling into her hair, he murmured, "I love you too baby."

July 2021

Jordan watched the kids playing nearby and sighed contentedly as she snuggled back against Derek. It was really far too hot for snuggling, but her need for skin on skin contact had always been higher while she was pregnant and she was lucky to have a husband who accommodated her needs.

Looking out over the park, she could see many groups of people celebrating the fourth of July with a picnic of their own. Distant sounds of music playing and bands performing mixed with people singing, laughing and cheering on the entertainment happening all across the city this hot summer day. Having already eaten, the kids would be happily entertained for hours yet with their games, which left the adults able to have a decent conversation without weathering too many interruptions.

"Aren't you guys hot all snuggled up there," Penelope asked as she narrowed her eyes at them, a battery operated fan in the shape of a brightly coloured flower aimed at her face. "I mean, it's about a bazillion degrees out here; I don't see how you aren't melting into a puddle of chocolatey gooiness."

Jordan looked up at Derek, her eyebrow arched in amusement as he winked down at her. He stole a quick kiss before looking the group over.

"That actually leads in beautifully to what I was about to say. Jordan's pregnant; we're expecting our fourth child in early January."

Cheering followed this announcement along with lots of hugs and congratulations, though Derek noted that Esther seemed sad underneath her genuine warm reaction. He waited until everything had settled down before asking about it.

"Hey Esther, is everything alright?"

Esther looked startled at first before a look of consternation came over her face. "Sorry Derek. I didn't mean to pull attention from your big announcement.

He waved that off. "Not the point I was trying to make hon. What's going on?"

She slumped back against Sean, who wrapped her up in a supportive hug.

"Esther and I have been told that it is highly doubtful that we will ever be able to have another child naturally." He murmured softly with her for a moment before explaining. "She had a bad UTI when she was in high school that left a lot of scarring behind, causing three miscarriages in her first marriage and another four since we were married five years ago. We recently made the tough decision to stop trying, because it hurts far too much every time you lose that child you were just beginning to think about becoming a reality."

Emily nodded her affirmation as several members of the group murmured support and condolences.

"I get that," Emily said softly. "When I lost the baby shortly before your wedding, I thought my heart was going to break beyond all my abilities to heal it. It didn't matter that I already had healthy children; the grief was just all consuming."

"Are you looking into other avenues of becoming parents?" Brad asked in the silence that followed Emily's admittance.

Sean nodded as Esther explained, "We remembered which agency you and Kelly were with and approached them. We actually have your caseworker working on our behalf. We've also spoken with one of their other caseworkers who only handles international adoptions."

"We're not being picky at this stage," Sean added. "We both just really want to be parents, so we are looking into all the ways that this is possible."

"Surrogacy?" JJ asked curiously.

Esther shook her head. "We considered it, but we're not sure about watching a baby with our DNA growing in someone else's stomach. Or rather, I'm not comfortable with the idea. Sean would consider it, but we agreed to hold off on that unless it becomes strictly necessary. There is also the potential for the surrogate to become so attached to the baby that they won't give it up, and that is something I just couldn't contemplate surviving. I'd rather try myself and lose that way."

"Well I'll try not to rub my pregnancy in your face too much," Jordan said as she held out her hand.

Esther took it with a firm shake of her head. "No. Don't be like that. I like to celebrate all of you in your growing families."

Dave snorted. "Not so much growing going on anymore. Certain families got too big to grow."

"Speak for yourself," Penelope said indignantly. When Dave raised an eyebrow at her she shrugged. "We just decided to cap things off at three; it had nothing to do with how big the family got."

Everyone laughed as Dave inclined his head in acknowledgement of her statement, and the talk turned to lighter, happier topics.

September 2021

"Ryan scares me a little, even while making me proud as punch."

Jordan's smile was amused as she looked at her husband. "Which part?"

Derek laughed with her as they spotted Emily and Aaron walking in their direction. After they'd been through the greeting and ordering stages, Aaron inquired as to their amusement when they arrived.

"It was one of those you-had-to-be-there-in-the-moment moments. But we can give you the gist of the conversation leading up to that moment." The waiter returned with their drinks, setting them out before walking back inside the café. Derek continued, "Did we mention that Ryan started learning to play the piano back at the start of May?"

"I think I heard something to that effect when Austin was talking about Diana's improvement on the violin. I think it went along the lines of at least the piano doesn't screech," Emily finished with a cheeky grin.

Jordan took a sip of her smoothie and returned the grin. "Ryan's first request was for the violin, but since we had asked for a list of the three instruments he most wanted to learn to play, we thankfully had other options to work with."

"What was the third option?"

"The cello," Derek said. "Which wouldn't have been so bad, except that the cello is currently bigger than he is. The growth spurts definitely haven't started yet."

"So the piano was the only option genuinely considered?" Aaron asked.

"Yes," Derek replied. "Ryan didn't seem that upset either way, so we picked up a nice second hand piano and found a local teacher who was happy to come to us in the afternoon when Ryan got home from school and on the weekends."

"I feel like there is a 'but' involved here somewhere," Emily stated as their food came out.

"Not so much a 'but' as a 'we did not see that coming'."

"How do you mean?"

Jordan made a go-ahead gesture to Derek as she tucked into her sandwich with a happy sigh.

They all ate in contented silence for a few minutes before Derek's initial hunger settled down and he continued the narrative.

"Ryan picked up the placement of his hands on the keys, which keys were which, the running of the different scales and the reading of music all within the first lesson. Keep in mind that lessons are an hour long and most people just starting lessons don't manage to get all of that down for _at least_ a few months, and anywhere up to a year. He practiced diligently throughout the week, showed his proficiency to be quite advanced at the start of his second lesson, and had learnt three separate short songs by the time the teacher left. She warned us then that she probably wouldn't be able to teach him for very long because his ability was already outstripping her own.

"She left Ryan with the beginner's music book they had been working from. By the time she returned the following week, he had not only played every song in the book without any problems with the flow of the notes, but he was playing the songs without actually reading the music _and_ he was beginning to add little flourishes here and there."

"Good gracious, he sounds like a prodigy," Emily said breathlessly.

"That's what his teachers have all stated," Jordan agreed.

"How many teachers has he had?"

"He's on his third now, but this guy has a sister who is the dean of the local music conservatory and he has been in contact with her about Ryan." Derek's face showed his shock as he spoke. "She came out to hear him play and was completely blown away by the classical piece he played for her. They're prepared to offer free, unlimited piano lessons after school and on weekends with their best teachers in order to help him progress at his speed. They're also willing to connect him virtually to teachers around the world who can further help him."

"Wow," Emily breathed.

"Wow is right," Aaron agreed. "How does Ryan feel about it all?"

"Ah, there's the rub," Jordan said with a sigh. "He's actually a little frightened by the speed with which everything is happening to him, including his own abilities. He just thought playing an instrument would be for fun, and now everyone is making it out to be some huge deal. We sat down with him this morning before leaving for our lunch with you and asked him what he wanted to do. For now, we are putting a stop to all lessons, and we've been in contact with the dean and explained that Ryan wants to slow everything down so he can just be a little boy who likes to play piano. She wasn't enthusiastic about the idea, but as Derek pointed out, he's only seven, and neither of us will ever force our kids to be someone they're not. If Ryan grows up and wants to play piano for a living, I have no doubt he will make that happen. If he grows up wanting to be something else, then we will support him completely. It is his life and as long as he makes good life choices, who are we to get in the way."

"I can just imagine his relief when you explained that to him," Aaron said with a smile.

"He cried," Derek stated. "When he was done crying, he said we were the best parents ever and he was going to go get ready for his play date with Mackenzie."

Everyone chuckled as the plates were collected before Emily turned to Jordan.

"So tell me, how are you and the bub? Any ideas what you're having just yet?"

Jordan snorted, disdain written all over her face. "You're kidding, right? This little one, whoever they are, has been playing coy since day one. I've got a feeling we're just not going to know until the doctor announces it at their birth."

"You seem a little frustrated by this," Aaron teased gently.

Jordan bared her teeth and snarled at him as everyone else laughed.

New Year's Eve 2021

Jordan rubbed lightly at the taught skin of her abdomen as she listened to the distant sounds of her family making breakfast. She had no doubt that it would be breakfast in bed for her, because there was otherwise nothing in the universe that could get Ben and Ryan up this early on a non-school day. They would be part of a surprise pampering moment for her and she smiled, thinking back over the last nine months to all the things, little and big, that her family had pulled out of nowhere just to make her feel special.

Sure enough, her boys walked through the door several minutes later. Jonathan carried the larger tray instead of the individual one she normally used when eating away from the table, Ryan was carefully carrying a plate, Ben had two more and Derek brought up the rear with a glass of milk, several plates and cutlery. The realisation as they set everything down, that there was so much food because they were going to eat with her, left her feeling a little emotional.

"Aww, you guys cooked breakfast for me?"

Three little heads nodded solemnly. It was Ben who explained, "Dad said you can't stand up much anymore because it hurts too much, so we thought we could cook and then Dad said that just this once, we could eat up here."

"You're all very sweet," she said with a smile at the boys before pining Derek with a look that he correctly interpreted.

"I thought I might settle you in the living room with a movie or book of your choice while I washed the sheets today," he said with a decisive nod, clearly trying not to squirm.

She relented with a smile. "That sounds like an excellent idea."

They had kept it simple, with pancakes, bacon, eggs and toast, which was just fine with her considering she didn't really have much of an appetite. The food was dished up and the guys tucked into it. She had a small bite of eggs and felt her stomach rebel against her. Taking a slow breath, she took the glass of milk and had a sip, grimacing slightly at the taste of it. She set it back down as her memory reminded her of times past shortly before she went into labour with Ben and Ryan; she'd lost her appetite _and_ her taste for food both times.

"Derek," she said softly as the first twinge made itself known.

As his head came around to look at her, Jonathan piped up. "Aren't you hungry mummy?"

"Not really baby. The food is delicious, but I have no room to put it in this morning."

Derek's eyes narrowed knowingly as Jonathan looked closely at her before shrugging and digging back into his food. Jordan placed a finger to her lips as the boys ate and dropped her head back against the pillows piled up behind her. They had some time yet before they needed to get moving, so she'd let the boys enjoy this special treat while they could, since all the attention would shortly be on the new baby. But soon enough breakfast was over, and Derek gathered the boys and dishes up and moved them out of the room.

Easing out of bed, Jordan waddled into the bathroom to clean up before walking back into the main room for her robe. She was just far too tired to worry about getting dressed when they would be sent straight up to maternity when they arrived at the hospital anyway. Now ready to go, she sat on the end of the bed and waited patiently for her husband to come back up for her. Sure enough, Derek jogged back in a few minutes later.

"The boys are watching Disney in the living room and Austin is on her way. She'll stay with them while I am at the hospital with you. She said it was the least she could do after all the help we gave her while Reid was in hospital all those months."

"You couldn't get a hold of Sean or Esther?"

"No. It was weird; both phones went straight to voicemail. I was worried so I called Aaron, which was necessary anyway since we are supposed to be there tonight and he confirmed that he knew what was going on and while it wasn't good, it wasn't anything anyone could really help with either."

"I wish I had it in me to push for an answer so that we could offer to help or support or something, but I am clearly not able to right now."

Derek leaned down and gently kissed her forehead, placing his hands on hers on her belly and feeling the movements there. She rested against him, breathing slowly and deeply and in that moment he had perfect clarity on the depth of his love for her. Oh, he always knew how much he loved his wife of ten years but some moments, like this one right now, it was like a bell tolling on the clearest of days, pure and sweet.

"I love you," he said softly, forcing the words past the lump in his throat. Understanding filled her eyes as she looked up at him, so he kissed her; a long, slow, sweet melding that left him longing for more but content for what he had right now. Clearing his throat, he stroked her hair gently. "We should start walking for the stairs while you can still move easily."

She nodded her agreement and allowed him to help her stand, steadying her until she nodded that she was ready. They must have been in the moment longer than he thought, because the front door opened while they were still on the stairs and Austin walked through. Seeing where they were, she hurried forward and offered a supportive hand on Jordan's free side.

"I'm guessing from the reasonably relaxed looks on your faces that it isn't time to rush around like headless chooks yet."

Jordan grinned. "Not at the moment anyway. I'm glad the key we gave you came in handy."

"Me too," she said with a cheeky smile in return. "I left Spencer watching Barbie princess movies with the girls."

Derek chuckled as Jordan laughed her head off, which had obviously been the goal if the satisfied look on Austin's face was anything to go by. Austin walked off with a cheerful little whistle and they quickly heard happy shouts from the boys. He got Jordan settled in the car, realised that he had forgotten the overnight bag and headed back inside. Austin met him with the bag in the kitchen, but didn't immediately let go of it.

"When the pregnancy progressed past the point that Jonathan's stalled at, most of the underlying stress Jordan was feeling eased. But there is still fear in the back of her head that something could still go horribly wrong now. As focused as you are on her, I know you would have picked it up on your own pretty quickly…"

"But it never hurts to have something this important confirmed," Derek finished softly.

Austin let go of the bag with a nod. "You were my rock when I thought I was losing Spencer, and after that during the months he was in the coma. I owe you more than I will ever be able to repay, and knowing you as I do, more than you will ever let me repay. So I will do what I can for you and Jordan and your boys when I can and will try to be content with that."

He hugged her tight, kissed her lightly and thanked her softly before heading back to the car and the woman he would give his life for.

New Year's Day

"Oh my goodness, we might just win the competition."

Jordan narrowed her eyes on her husband, who looked far too good after a full day of coaching her through her contractions.

"What competition," she gritted out.

"All you have to do is slow down for just a few more minutes and we might just have the first baby born in the New Year. I hear this hospital offers full college scholarships for those babies when they grow up."

Jordan reached out and hooked her hand in Derek's top, hauling him close. "I am _not_ slowing down just so that this baby has a free college educa….ahhhhhhhh!" She tightened her hold in her husband's top, vaguely aware of his rapid reassurances that she could have the baby whenever she was ready and to ignore him. Dropping back against the pillows behind her, she glared at him.

"If looks could kill dad, you'd be a very dead man right now," the midwife said in amusement.

"Don't I know it," he muttered as he eyed the normally gentle woman he had married.

"Damn straight," Jordan agreed under her breath as another contraction turned into something else. "I think I need to push."

"I was just going to suggest that very thing," the midwife encouraged with a warm smile. Derek moved in behind her for additional support and everything happened very quickly after that, her screams of pain melding into tears of joy as healthy lungs announced their displeasure.

"Okay, let's cut that," the midwife murmured, before looking up with a grin. "Congratulations Jordan and Derek, it's a girl!" She lifted the partially swaddled baby up where they could see her and placed her on Jordan's chest.

Jordan lifted her hands and gently cradled the baby. "Hey beautiful girl, you're finally here. It's you and me against all the testosterone, though knowing my luck you'll be daddy's little princess and will take after him. But that's okay baby mine."

Derek gently embraced them both, kissing both his girls before a nurse came to take the baby for measuring. The midwife winked at them.

"The stopwatch says midnight plus fifteen seconds. Now, I happen to know that there are seven women in labour tonight so the results aren't assured, but there is a strong chance that your little beauty is the first born this year in this hospital."

"Yes!" Derek said enthusiastically as he pumped the air.

Jordan rolled her eyes and reached out to the nurse returning her child to her.

"Is she alright?" she asked anxiously.

"She's perfect," the nurse assured them both.

Derek kissed the side of her head, and then her lips as she tipped her head up to him. "She is the perfect little miniature of you; I can see it already."

Her smile trembled slightly. "We need a name for her. Are we happy with what we discussed this morning?"

He nodded and rubbed his nose against hers before they turned their attention back to the baby who was finally quieting down.

"Well?" the midwife asked as all attention turned their way.

Jordan's smile was soft. "I love my three sons more than life, but I am so overjoyed to welcome this beautiful little girl into our family. We're naming her Eloise May Morgan."

Late January 2022

Jordan walked into the care centre that Jonathan had been attending for the last two weeks and headed in the direction of the room he would be in. The centre only accepted children with disabilities and offered specialised classroom style experiences that allowed professionally trained teachers to assess their capabilities for entering mainstream schooling. The assessment would provide recommendations on the levels of support each child would need, whether they entered a normal schooling environment or whether they needed to attend a special education institution.

Today was the end of the initial assessment period. If everything went well, Jonathan would be ready for some form of school come the start of the next school year in September. But she was nervous, because there was also the chance that they would be recommending holding Jonathan back by another year, and she really didn't want that for her youngest son. She wanted him to go through school with his peers, not by always being the oldest child in the class.

Looking down at the baby in her arms, she smiled gently. "Hey baby girl. What do you think? Do you think Jonathan can be ready for school this year?" Eloise slept on peacefully and Jordan nodded. "You're right sweetheart; this is not something to stress over. Right, let's go see your brother's teacher."

A few minutes later, she'd greeted Jonathan and sent him back to play while she stepped into the teacher's office.

"Have a seat Jordan," Susie said. She peered at the baby in Jordan's arms. "How is motherhood treating you this time around?"

Jordan smiled ruefully. "It has been interesting. All three boys established nice, parent-friendly sleep patterns pretty quickly. Eloise has decided that it is fun to keep everyone awake at night. As far as I am aware, Jonathan is the only one sleeping through the night at the moment and that is only because once he is asleep you can't wake him for anything."

Susie's look was sympathetic and they chatted for a few minutes before they got down to the reason Jordan was still there.

"As you know, your case worker, GP and specialist all gave us access to their records on previous assessments of Jonathan's disability so that we had a point of reference as I assessed him over the last two weeks. I can go into all of the details if you like, but essentially what I have found is that Jonathan is very slowly but surely catching up in all of the areas he has been lagging in, including his mental age. He may need initial support on entry, but as he is with us up until he enters school, I fully believe that he will be ready for kindergarten come September."

Jordan grinned, wanting to get up and dance around for joy, but she contained herself because she didn't want to wake her daughter.

"That is such great news, thank you so much! I think this calls for a family celebration this evening. Does Jonathan continue to come in here to your classroom based on the current schedule?"

Susie smiled warmly. "For now, yes. I'll probably keep him here for the next few weeks to fully cement what I am teaching him, and then I'll recommend that he move into the next phase of learning. If I feel he needs a bit longer here, I'll hold on to him. There isn't a right or wrong way to progress through the teaching environments we provide; there's just his way."

Jordan thanked Susie warmly and walked back into the classroom. Jonathan came running with a joyful shout and after looking over all of his achievements that day, she walked them back to the car as she mentally planned a special celebration for her gorgeous little battler.

March 2022

"How is she doing?" Jordan asked Emily as she approached.

Emily grinned. "She's a sweetheart. I will deny it if anyone asks, but she is making me feel clucky."

They both laughed as they looked out over the backyard that was teeming with kids helping Ben to celebrate his tenth birthday.

"This is probably a silly question, but have you received your invitation to Ariana's sixteenth next month yet?"

Emily rolled her eyes. "I think Lydia and Cameron have bitten off more than they can chew, but hey, you only turn sixteen once and apparently this is how she wants to celebrate it."

Jordan's head tipped sideways as she narrowed her eyes on the small group of little boys creeping towards the pool. Before she needed to intervene, Dave and Spencer swept in and herded them back to the main group.

"We only received an invite to the large extended family dinner on the Friday. What does the whole celebration look like?"

"The celebration starts with a private family dinner on Thursday the seventh, though Ariana is campaigning to have Jack there for that one too."

"She hasn't won that campaign?"

"Not _yet_."

Jordan snorted softly in amusement as Emily continued. "The large extended family dinner is on the Friday with all of us at our place and then we are swapping houses with the Scott's on the Saturday so that Ariana can have the teens only pool party on her actual birthday."

" _Teens_ only?"

"Well teens, Lydia and Cameron anyway. That way she can have both guys and girls there and the party will still be a safe environment for everyone. We'll have Rhys and Evan with us while Gavin is going to be in attendance at the party with his girlfriend. They're mostly just attending, but they've also offered to keep an eye on things considering the number of people Ariana has invited."

"So the celebrations start on the seventh and finish up on the ninth?"

"Yes."

"Hmm. Are we all bringing food on the Friday?"

"It is my hope to convince Lydia to allow us all to do that, but right now she is insisting on doing all of the cooking herself." Emily shook her head. "I have enough trouble cooking up enough to feed my brood every night. I just don't see how she can manage it without spending at least two weeks cooking in the lead up to it. We're catching up for coffee this week so I'll see what I can do."

"Either way it will be epic," Jordan stated.

"This is true, though as long as Ariana is happy, I don't think her parents are complaining. Now, I am going to change the subject to something far more interesting."

Jordan raised an eyebrow. "I like interesting."

Emily grinned and shifted Eloise on her shoulder. "Find Ben and tell me who he is with."

Jordan rolled her eyes. "That's easy. He's down the back of the yard with India." Jordan frowned slightly. "That is India, right?"

Emily nodded her agreement with an amused smile. "Yes, that's India. When we arrived, she rather enthusiastically wished him a happy birthday. Keep in mind that she is the shy, quiet twin. We then moved into the house, dropped off the presents and came out here. That was approximately three hours ago. Since then, they have had three rather animated conversations in passing that I am aware of, and have been sitting down the back there for around forty-five minutes."

"We told Ben to try really hard not to get caught up in any one conversation or activity and to make sure that he mingled with everyone who has come to help him celebrate," Jordan said with a frown.

"Don't you think it is interesting though that my quietest child is interested in your young socially outgoing child and vice versa?"

It was obvious that Jordan had only just caught on to what Emily was getting at. "You think this'll be another Jack and Ariana situation where they start out young?"

Emily shrugged. "I'm just pointing out that the little girl who has just two friends because she is so quiet that it is almost impossible for her to put herself out there is down the back of the yard having an involved, animated conversation with Ben. If she ends up following in her big brother's footsteps, I'm not going to cry over it. I really like Ben, and she can definitely do worse."

Jordan smiled, pleased, before sighing. "And it really isn't that surprising that they would be talking considering she's only two months younger than him. Still, everyone is here to celebrate with him and he is off to the side. I should go and sort that out."

But even as she said that, Derek crouched down beside the kids and talked to them. They could see India's blush from where they stood, and could tell that both kids were rather apologetic as they stood up and followed Derek back into the middle of the action. They also didn't miss the wistful glances they threw each other as they parted.

"Do you guys want to stay for dinner after the party is over?" Jordan asked as she turned to Emily.

Neither woman pretended the invitation was anything other than an opportunity to see how intensely India and Ben liked each other.

"I'll go find Aaron and ask," Emily responded as she walked off. She exchanged a high-fived with Derek as they passed each other, and a moment later Jordan was snuggled into her husband's arms as they looked out over the chaos that their backyard had become.

"I invited Emily, Aaron and family to stay for dinner. We both agree that we want a better idea of what is going on with Ben and India."

"Good idea," he agreed softly. "They were both completely oblivious to me until I was right down beside them. I definitely feel like there might be relationship potential there."

"We're going to learn from Jack and Ariana's mistakes if that is the case, right?"

"Absolutely baby." They watched as Ben and India slowly gravitated back towards each other despite all the kids trying to claim Ben's attention. "Learning from those mistakes is most definitely going to be a must."

 **End**

 **Reviews are love and encouragement to continue writing this series. Please consider leaving me a review in the conveniently placed box right under these words. You don't even need to sign in, though I'd love to be able to thank you for your kind words.**


	5. 5 The Scott's

**A/N: Apologies for the gap in posting; life happened for both myself and my beta. And knowing what I am like, I make no predictions for when I will next post, though hopefully the gap will be reasonable.**

 **I would love to thank Hippiechic81, Daisyangel, CrazyPainter and the wonderful zhangxinna, who posted not once but twice and made me feel all warm and fuzzy with their very encouraging words. You all inspire me to keep going, even though the going may be slow sometimes. I do this for all of you.**

 **My beta is the most amazing woman I know outside of Australia and encourages and inspires me daily to be better than I am. I couldn't have done this without you, wtiger5, and I look forward to continuing this series with you on my side.**

 **Note: The gift from Kaylee in one of the birthday scenes is totally made up and quite likely doesn't exist. But if it does even remotely mirror my description, I am not trying to rip anyone off. I did loosely base the description on a scene written by the amazing Tamora Pierce in her book The Realms of the Gods, but that is all.**

 **WARNING: This chapter is filled with dramatic moments and lots of sweet family fun.**

 **DISCLAIMER: I don't own Criminal Minds at all, although they do own me. And the list of those I do own is getting so incredibly long that I am just going to say that I own anyone who does not come directly from Criminal Minds.**

Chapter 5 – The Scott's

April 2022

"Happy two-days-early-birthday Ari."

Ariana looked at the gift Jack was holding out to her in surprise. "Don't you want to wait until Saturday to give that to me?"

Jack blushed as he smiled sheepishly. "I ah, couldn't decide between several gifts that I was looking at for you, so I just kind of, um, boughtallthree," he finished in a mumbled rush.

Ariana took a moment to deduce what he had just said, then laughed softly. "You're the absolute sweetest Jack, thank you. Shall I open it now?"

Jack shook his head. "Could we talk out here for a few minutes before you open that and we go in?" he asked hesitantly.

"Of course," she said softly. She led him to the porch swing seat and settled down beside him as he wiped his hands on his thighs. She turned as the front door opened, acknowledged her mum's ten minutes to dinner advice and waited until they were alone again before speaking. "Whatever it is that has you so nervous, just say it. You know you can tell me anything."

"I do know that." He went silent again for a minute, his hands fidgeting nervously as he obviously tried to gather his thoughts together. She set her unopened gift down beside her and reached out to place a hand on his, earning a small smile before he sighed heavily. "Do you remember the conversation Mum had with us four years ago when your dad caught us kissing?"

"How could I forget? It is the only time I can ever remember being scared of my father."

He nodded agreement, hesitated another moment and then blurted out, "I don't know about kissing." He stopped as abruptly as he'd started and closed his eyes. "That didn't come out right."

"Yes it did," she assured him as she squeezed his hands. "That came out just right. Because I think we should hold off longer too before we start kissing on the mouth."

She almost laughed as his eyes opened to their widest and his mouth opened in shock. "Really?"

"Really." She pushed her foot lightly against the ground and set them to gently rocking. "I've been thinking a lot about your mum's story over the last four years, and a lot more than a lot over the last few months as my birthday approached. I love you Jack, and more than that I love being with you and being held by you and I think if we weren't really, _really_ careful we could easily get carried away and potentially end up where she was. And as much as I love you, I don't want that. I would rather wait until we're older, or even if you were okay with it until we were married, before we go any further than we already have."

Jack's sigh of relief was so noisy it would have made her laugh if it hadn't been so heartfelt. "Mum was watching Danielle, Nicola and Josiah for Kelly and Brad the other day and Danielle was talking about how there was this couple in her class that were always getting into trouble because they kept disappearing to have sex with each other. Chloe started peppering her with questions about it and Mum shut the conversation down at the time but later sat Chloe and India down and told them the story. Hearing it again got me thinking about how when I was with you I sometimes forget everything I know or was ever told because I am so wrapped up in how beautiful you are and how lucky I am that you are with me. And the last thing I _ever_ want to do is dishonour you in that way; you mean far too much to me."

Ariana knew her smile was huge, but she couldn't help it knowing that Jack loved her that much. "So we wait. Maybe talk again on my eighteenth birthday and see how we are feeling about everything. But otherwise we continue on as we have been. It doesn't mean we love each other any less; rather that we love each other enough to want to do things correctly. What do you think?"

"I think that is perfect and so are you. And it leads beautifully into my gift for you, so you can open it now."

Her smile turned soft and she knew she was blushing but she couldn't help it; he did that to her without even trying. She carefully unwrapped the gift to find a smallish box. She blinked to see the logo from a specialist jewellery shop looking up at her and then gasped in shock to see what was inside. A ring with a silver band nestled in the slot. Tiny silver hands rose out of the band to cup a heart shaped, vibrant green gemstone.

"Wow Jack, this is gorgeous," she breathed, totally in awe at the beauty of the ring.

"It's a promise ring. The stone is a tourmaline, which is one of my birthstones."

Ariana's eyes lit up with understanding. "The ring symbolises that I have your heart, doesn't it?"

Jack nodded nervously. "It might seem like a bit much, but mum and dad saved the jeweller's daughter years ago when they were on a case. I was explaining what I wanted but instead of looking at my designs, he was looking at me. When he asked if I knew Aaron Hotchner and I said I was his son, he nodded, looked at my designs, made a few suggestions and…"

"Jack! Please stop rambling." He closed his mouth quickly. "This is the sweetest gift I have ever been given. Did you run it past Dad?"

Jack grinned, his eyes crinkling with laughter. "I ran it past both your parents and mine, just to be sure. They said they were happy for me to get it for you, but I should give it to you today, along with the other more fancy and expensive items you're getting from your family. That way none of your friends feel put out or out done by any of us when you open your gifts on Saturday."

She laughed happily and nodded her agreement as she slid the ring out of the box. He took the ring from her and slid it on her left ring finger before squeezing her hand. After taking a moment to admire the ring on her finger, they stood up from the seat, hugged and moved inside to join her family for dinner.

The Next Day

Ariana followed Jack out of the light of the multiple torches set throughout the backyard of his home and peered back to shoot a mischievous smile at Georgia and Toby as they followed along behind her. The second celebration for her birthday, the one with the big extended family dinner, was slowly beginning to wind down. Some of the families had left, though there were still a lot of people about, and a lot of younger kids too. And while she loved everyone in this big, crazy family, the almost sixteen-year-old had decided that she needed some quiet time to herself before she returned to the energy of the main group, and had convinced her three best friends in the whole world to come enjoy the quiet with her.

Jack shook out the blanket he had grabbed on the way out of the house and they sat down quietly to enjoy the moment while they could. There was no need for conversation to fill in the gaps; they were all just content in each other's company. They had been sitting like that for several long minutes, though Ariana was considering lying down to look up at the sky through the leaves of the trees when two figures headed down towards them. She sighed internally, figuring the quiet was already over when they stopped nearby and started talking. She could tell immediately that it was Esther and Sean, and from the topic of their conversation she could also tell that they had absolutely no idea that the four of them were sitting just meters away from them. The four of them stared at each other in shock as their words reached them.

"Why did you say that to Emily?" Sean demanded of his wife.

Esther's sigh was heavy. "I said it because I am still holding out hope that we can have a baby the natural way."

Sean threw his hands up in the air and paced back and forth a few times, obviously anxious about something. He finally stopped in front of her.

"Do you know what was going through my head on New Year's Eve while I waited for the doctor to come in and tell me what was going on? I was thinking that no baby was worth your life. And when he walked out and told me that not only had you miscarried, but that you had almost bled to death and could still leave me, I thought my life was over because I love you so much. I was so scared, being there all alone while I waited to see if you lived or died because you didn't want anyone to know what was going on. And that felt like Hannah all over again."

"Oh Sean," she said on a sob, stepping in to him and holding him tight. Ariana and Georgia lifted their hands to the mouths to stifle their gasps of shock.

"I knew it would be different this time around, because obviously there is Isaac now, but the thought of raising him by myself, of living my life without you in it…"

Esther tipped her head back to look up at him. "I get it now and I'm sorry. I've been so selfish, so focused on having another baby that I forget at times that when things are falling apart within my body, this is affecting you too. I'm not the only one grieving but with the blinders my grief puts up, I'm just not seeing it." She put her head back on his shoulder with a soft sigh. "I'm going to make an appointment to see my doctor on Monday and ask about going on the pill. I'm going to be grateful for my life, for my beautiful son and wonderful husband and I'm going to stop actively putting myself in a position of harm. Yes, I want a large family, but there are other, safer ways of seeing that become a reality. I should be looking to Teresa and Dave and taking my cues from them and the wonderful family they managed to create despite not being able to do that the way they had initially planned to. Can you forgive me for being so self-centred over the last few years?"

"Only if you can forgive me for being selfish enough to demand you give up your dream so that I can have you in my life forever," he responded softly as he looked down at her. Georgia turned her head into Toby's shoulder as he lifted an arm to hold her, but not before Ariana saw the tears now coursing down her face. She too was fighting back tears and a glance at Jack showed that he had a couple of tears sliding down his cheeks also, and she gently lifted a hand to wipe them away.

Esther's smile trembled but held as she peered back up at Sean. "I forgive you, because I love you more than I love my dream."

Sean smiled at his wife with so much love showing on his face that Ariana blushed and looked away. "I forgive you also because I love you more than life."

All four of them looked away as the older couple kissed passionately for a few minutes before walking back towards the house. Long moments passed in silence before Georgia whispered, "What just happened?"

No one had an answer for her, but they were all in agreement that they would be keeping this one very much to themselves.

The Next Day – Ariana's Actual Birthday

"Hello?"

Ariana swallowed her stolen mouthful of one of the treats her mother had made for her party and squealed as she ran out of the kitchen toward the front door.

"Kaylee!" she shouted happily as she hugged her brother's girlfriend tightly. She could hear Gavin laughing somewhere behind her as Kaylee returned her hug just as excitedly.

"Happy sixteenth birthday beautiful," Kaylee gushed warmly as she pulled back and held up a gold gift bag.

"Aww, thank you!" she replied excitedly as she took it, stepping to the side as Gavin moved in to greet his girl. Not needing to watch them kiss, she set about trying to figure out what Kaylee had bought for her without actually moving the tissue paper she could see at the top of the small bag.

Gavin had started talking about Kaylee shortly before his sixteenth birthday almost two years ago. He was straight up nervous about approaching her because in his words she was gorgeous and talented and he was not. The whole family, even four-year-old Evan, had snorted at that comment; Gavin was the fastest track athlete at his school and had taken after his father in looks. Gavin had obviously felt a little better about the compliments that followed, but was still too nervous to say anything. Then, at a track meet three weeks after his birthday, Kaylee had shocked the life out of him by walking up to him and striking up a conversation. As it turned out, she had been watching him for a little over a year by that point and had finally come up with the courage to walk up to him and tell him so. After the awkwardness of the initial conversation, numbers had been exchanged, a date for their first date had been set and the rest was history.

The family had met Kaylee three months after that first conversation over a family dinner. Kaylee's obvious nervousness around Cameron had been greater than was warranted and so she had explained at Lydia's gentle prodding that she had been placed in foster care after her parents' death when she was seven. Her first foster family had been on the verge of adopting her when the mother had died suddenly and the father fell apart. Then in her second family she had been abused by the father and while he was in jail and she was now with another really great foster family who was helping her to heal, she still got nervous around large, athletic men. Cameron had seen this many times and had eased back, letting her get used to him gradually.

But with the same strength and courage it had taken the teenager to trust again after what had been done to her, it hadn't taken her longer than that first meeting to feel comfortable around the whole family. The younger boys adored her, and despite the slight age gap, Kaylee and Ariana became close; Ariana had come to see her as the sister she had never had. Gavin had his parents' approval from the beginning and Kaylee had become a regular fixture around the house as their relationship had grown.

"Aren't you going to open it?" The amused voice interrupted her musing and Ariana blushed as she carefully moved the tissue paper out of the way to reveal a stone-shaped object inside. She lifted it up and frowned as she tried to figure out what it was. It looked like a large stone covered over in glass; the bottom was flat, rounding up and into the stone shape to a height of about three inches. This confused her greatly because everyone who knew her knew that she didn't particularly like stones.

Then the magic started.

As she watched, the black space inside the glass casing faded into a white mist. Out of the mist, a tiny image appeared in the centre and spiralled slowly up towards the glass, steadily growing bigger until it looked like a bird with a long body and drab grey feathers. Running out of room, the bird turned belly up and opened up its wings, showing a bright yellow belly surrounded by a wide wingspan in shades of red, blue, green, pink and purple. Brightly coloured lights in similar shades exploded all through the white mist, radiating outward, until the bird closed its wings and the white mist closed over it again.

Ariana exhaled heavily. "Oh, this is so beautiful," she breathed softly as the bird began the upward spiral again.

Kaylee smiled warmly and greeted Jack as he stepped inside the front door. Ariana turned just enough to give him her cheek, but couldn't quite take her eyes off the brilliant display in her hand.

"Wow!" Jack stated emphatically as the display began for the third time. "Where did you get that?"

"It was on the school excursion to Japan back in March. I was looking at row upon row of these stones, just trying to figure out why they were so very pricey when the owner walked up, studied me a moment and then picked up one of them and offered it to me. He told me to 'watch closely' and placed it in the palm of my hand."

"Wait," Ariana interrupted. "That makes it sound like there were other scenes to be found."

"There were," Kaylee said in amused tone of voice. "The scene in mine was of a warrior princess in battle. He said that I had the look of a survivor that had come out the other side stronger than ever. I fell in love with that stone and his description of me and said that I would take it. Then while he was wrapping it up for me, I picked up another one; imagine my shock when this rather raunchy love scene appeared in the mist. That was about the point where I realised they all showed different scenes. I think I was there for about four hours just picking them up to see what they did. After about the fifth one, I had the sudden thought that your birthday was coming up and this could make an amazing gift if I could just find the right one."

Ariana finally tore her gaze from the stone in her hand and gently placed it back into the bag. "Well this is perfect, Kaylee, thank you so much," she said as she hugged the older teen.

"You're very welcome honey."

"I'm kind of jealous now," Gavin admitted.

"Don't be babe," Kaylee said as she lightly patted his cheek and stepped around him. "You're getting one for your eighteenth birthday."

"But that's ages away," Gavin called out as he hurried after them. Ariana, Kaylee and Jack all started laughing at him as they entered the kitchen and Ariana pulled out the stone to show her mother the beautiful gift that Kaylee had gotten for her.

July 2022

Cameron shifted his stance as the sands under his feet moved yet again and just stared at the mangled remains of the jeep lying upside down at the bottom of the massive dune it had just rolled down. He held his left arm close to his chest, fairly certain that it was broken after having rolled as many times as he had. The three guys with him were fairly lucky, walking away with bruises, scrapes, a few fractured ribs and a broken ankle. The jeep had definitely not faired as well; two of the tires were flat, one wheel had folded in on itself, what little glass there was had shattered, the frames at the top were bent completely out of shape and one of the doors was sticking out of the dune about 100 meters away. The only good thing for them was that it didn't appear to be leaking or sparking in any way that was immediately dangerous to them.

"Do you know, every time I see you I seem to need to rescue you."

All four men turned, guns just suddenly in their hands and pointed at the man standing several meters behind him and holding on to the reins of a camel even as his hands were in the air. At a gesture from Cameron, the men lowered their weapons, though Dean was already grinning as Cameron walked forward with his hand outstretched.

"That is certainly true Mohammed, though at least I don't believe I'm going to die this time around."

"That is most certainly a good thing, friend Cameron." He inclined his head to the two guys that were hanging back before greeting Dean with equal warmth and familiarity. "We are settled about a kilometer from here, an easy walk, but your man with the broken ankle will obviously find this difficult. I would be happy to allow him to ride the camel while I walk with you. Unless you need to be somewhere in a hurry?"

Cameron shook his head. "We've finished our mission here and were on our way back to the city when the jeep started rolling as the road disappeared. That was unexpected."

"There was a sandstorm through here two nights ago; the road is up there somewhere, but the winds have yet to clear the way. Come, we can at least feed you and patch up your injuries while a message is sent to the city requesting assistance on your behalf."

Cameron agreed and performed the introductions. When he was questioned about how he knew Mohammed, he and Dean took turns explaining how Mohammed and his tribe had saved their lives when they were captured and nearly killed seven years before.

"And now we get rescued again. But at least I'm in a better position to insist on some way to thank you. Do you need supplies or information?"

As they walked toward where Mohammed's tribe was encamped and the bargaining began, Cameron sent up silent thanks that the desert nomads he had once spent half a year with had so willingly taken them in yet again.

September 2022

Lydia narrowed her eyes as she turned onto the street where her home was located, searching the cars parked along both sides carefully in case her husband was trying to sneak a surprise birthday party in for her, even though she had stressed firmly that she just wanted to celebrate quietly with her family. But the street appeared as it normally did to her, and as she pulled into the driveway, the only additional car she could see was Kaylee's, though she had no doubt that Jack would also be there.

She wasn't unrealistic; she knew they would probably do something. After all, she was turning the big 4-0 this year. And it was quite possible that one of her many friends would sneak the surprise party in when she was least expecting it (though she was certain she had extracted promises _not to_ from the most likely culprits). But what she had really just wanted for this year was something quiet, low-key and family oriented.

Hopefully that was the plan for the night.

She spotted Evan at the window, clearly watching for her, though instead of pretending he hadn't been there, he waved madly at her. As she got out of the car, she heard him shouting, "She's here, Mum's home! Do you need me to stall her?"

She laughed softly and walked slowly, waiting to see if she was on time or early. But just as she was reaching for the doorknob, the door opened and Cameron stepped out.

 _Oh my!_

She loved herself a good-looking man, and her husband was hands down the best-looking man she had ever laid eyes on. But put the man in a tuxedo and all she wanted to do was tear it off him as fast as she could because man alive, he made her _want!_

Swallowing hard against the desire sliding through her veins, she murmured softly, "I suddenly feel _very_ underdressed."

Cameron grinned down at her, the lust in his eyes a background for the spark of knowledge that suddenly appeared. The sneak knew he had her at his mercy and wasn't going to do a thing about it and yet somehow she wasn't upset. She just knew that the undressing later would be so much _more_ in every way if she could just wait.

"Well, if my lady will step into the garage with me, we shall do something about that."

It took her a moment to remember her comment about her clothes before she accepted the hand held out to her and followed Cameron into the large double garage. His 4WD was parked in its usual place, but the spot that she normally parked in had been transformed. A square of red carpet had been placed on the concrete, a clothes rack and small stand beside it. A gorgeous, emerald green evening gown hung from the rack beside a small underwear bag from Victoria's Secret, with matching shoes and accessories on the stand.

"I chose the dress and underwear, my birthday gift to you, and Ariana and Gavin bought the jewellery and shoes together for you. The gifts from the boys are inside. Unless the house is suddenly burning down, that door to the kitchen will remain shut while you change."

"That dress looks pretty snug. Are you going to help me into it?"

He stepped right into her and slid a hand seductively down her spine while the other hand light brushed over her cheek and hair. She melted in against him as his lips hovered over hers.

"Not only am I going to help you into this gown, but I'm going to take a great deal of pleasure later on in getting you out of it."

Her breath caught in her throat as his mouth finally met hers and the world around her fell away. The kiss was light but intimate, and somehow touched her from the top of her head through to the points of her toes before he pulled back and smiled tenderly down at her.

"Let's get you dressed baby."

She quickly realised that Cameron intended to do most of the work himself and allowed him to do it at his pace, letting her mind drift with his hands as her body relaxed. Her clothing came off and he took his time rubbing her favourite lotion all over her skin before he assisted her into the underwear and dress. The act of doing up the zipper at the back was as intimate as it got and she admitted to some disappointment that all her husband did was lightly kiss the base of her neck as he swept her hair up into a chignon. Jewellery was added to the look and then he sat her on the stand as he went down on one knee to put the beautiful strappy sandals on her feet.

Several moments later, she stood in front of the mirror that had been leaned against the wall for just this purpose and stared.

"Oh wow."

"Wow doesn't even come close," he murmured softly, lifting her hand to place a light kiss on the back of it. "Shall we head inside?"

She nodded silently, overcome with emotion that her family would still go to such lengths to make a quiet meal something special for her, and followed him to the door. It opened at his knock and she was faced with Evan and Rhys in their best suits. Taking the hands they offered, she allowed them to escort her to the table, where Gavin pulled her chair out for her. Seeing Ariana already at the table, and that the table was only set for five, she faltered slightly.

"Jack and Kaylee offered to cook and wait on us so that we could all enjoy a stress-free celebration with you. I did suggest that they join us, but they were adamant on remaining behind the scenes."

She frowned slightly at that, but Gavin and Ariana both rolled their eyes with indulgent smiles, so she let it go as the door opened and Kaylee stepped through. She wore black heels, stockings and a knee-length slim and sleeveless dress over a long-sleeved white shirt. Her hair was swept into a neat up-do. After wishing Lydia a happy birthday she explained the menu, which had apparently been a surprise for all of them, and noted down the small changes they made to their individual meals. Assuring them that dinner wasn't far off, she walked back into the kitchen.

They talked and laughed while they waited. Compliments flowed around the table, starting with how everyone looked and then shifting to compliments about recent accomplishments. Jack was dressed similarly to Kaylee with black pants and a vest over a white shirt, and assisted Kaylee in bringing out the three courses, staggered so that the meal wasn't rushed. Additional gifts were produced for her to open as they waited on dessert. Evan had bought her a book she had been thinking a lot about lately, and Rhys had bought her a favourite, extremely rare movie that she had been trying to find for a while. There were also a couple of small gifts from Kaylee and Jack, which was extremely sweet of them, and she told them this as they reappeared with an elaborately decorated cake. Finding out that Kaylee and Jack had been working on the cake all day with the assistance of the whole family really touched her, and she insisted that they stay and have a piece with the rest of them.

Then the family portion of the evening was over and she said goodnight to everyone with a hug and a kiss before accepting the arm Cameron held out to her. Lifting the bottom of her dress just enough not to trip on it as they climbed the stairs, her anticipation of the night ahead climbed as they did and by the time the bedroom door closed behind them and Cameron took her in his arms, she knew she was up for anything.

"Happy birthday beautiful," he murmured against her lips.

 _Oh yes, happy birthday to me._

October 2022

"This is Lydia," she said cheerfully after pulling over at the tones from her phone. She knew she could have the conversation through the Bluetooth with the car moving, but traffic was heavy around her and she'd felt safer in pulling to the side to take the incoming call.

"Mrs Scott, this is Denise Walker at your son Evan's school. As you know, they were on a school excursion today. I'm sorry to inform you that there was a head-on collision between the school bus and a truck and Evan has been gravely injured. I don't have all the specifics, but he is being airlifted to the children's hospital as we speak."

Lydia felt the world around her imploding. Somehow she managed to conclude the call, but inside she was screaming as she imagined what must be happening to her seven-year-old son. She desperately wanted to call Cameron and get him to tell her what to do, but he was overseas on a mission that she knew was extremely time sensitive and somehow more dangerous than normal so she was on her own.

 _No, Lydia. You are never on your own. You know who to call._

A moment later, a familiar voice filled the car. "Hey Lydia."

She started crying as the rambling started. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't get her words to come out in the correct order. But this was her closest friend Emily that they were talking about. Emily had worked for nearly twenty years with bad guys and serial killers and had seven children. So, even as the crying eased and the confusion of words continued, Emily pieced together what was going on and took over.

"Okay, first things first, take several deep breaths for me. Good. I will contact Gavin and ask him to pick Rhys up from school. Ariana is already with Jack at my place studying, so I'll bring her with me. But I need you to contact Cameron's boss to get him to pass the information on as soon as it is safe to do so. Can you do that?"

"Yes," she said in a small voice as she finally got her emotions under better control.

"Good. Honey, it'll be alright, I'm sure of it. I'll call Brad while I am en-route; he will have a contact at the children's hospital who can give us more information. I'll meet you in the emergency room as soon as I can get there. Are you going to be okay to drive?"

She laughed, a sound more like a sob escaping her lips. "I have to be okay driving; I'm still on the freeway on my way to pick up Evan…" her voice petered out as she thought of how scared her baby boy must be.

"Stop," Emily said firmly. Lydia focused in on the steady breathing she could hear through the handset. "Call Cameron's boss from where you are and pull the car as far over to the side as you can. I'll swing past you to pick you up, it will be safer that way. Make that call and I'll see you shortly."

Lydia did as she was told because she couldn't quite wrap her head around anything that didn't involve her panicking over Evan's unknown condition. With the car safely off to the side against the guardrail and the call made to Cameron's boss, she sat and waited and prayed.

Forty minutes later, Emily's vehicle pulled up behind her and then the woman was pulling her into a tight hug. She clung for several minutes before pulling back and wiping her leaky eyes.

"So if I'm not allowed to drive, how are we moving both cars?"

"Jack has his driver's licence, so he'll drive my car while I drive yours. Ariana can jump in our car or she can stay with Jack. For the record, Jack is an excellent driver, but as you are already having a traumatic day, the kids are happy to agree with whichever solution works best for you."

Lydia decided to leave the arrangement as it was, but watched closely as Jack merged with traffic behind them before turning back around.

"Did you get a hold of Brad?"

Emily shot her a compassionate smile. "I did. Things aren't looking great, but the battle has only just started to save his life and they are far from giving up. He received information stating that the bus rolled on impact, tossing everyone about. Evan has multiple broken bones and internal bleeding, and a severe concussion. He's in surgery as we speak, but apparently they are far more concerned about a crush injury he sustained to his lower left leg than any of his other injuries. They are doing their best, but unfortunately the outcome is looking like he might require an amputation in order to save his life."

Lydia stared at her friend in horror, taking the hand that was offered to her but not really being aware of the contact. She spent the rest of the trip trying to wrap her mind around the decisions that she might need to make without her husband by her side and found that she just couldn't.

"I know I need to be strong for the kids, but I'm not sure I can do this without Cameron. Not like this."

Emily parked the car and watched critically as Jack parked beside her before she turned back.

"When we first met, you had been held at the hands of monsters for months, and yet you still risked your life to save mine. Years later, when Cameron went missing for six months, you held it together despite being so very sick while you were pregnant with Evan. That woman is strong in ways that most will never understand; she just keeps getting up when life knocks her down. This is scary, probably the scariest thing you have ever had to face, but you are stronger than that and you _can_ do this. I'll be here, you have the support of the whole group to draw on, and Cameron will be home before you know it."

Lydia closed her eyes as peace flowed through her at Emily's words. Hearing how this massively courageous woman saw her gave her the courage she needed to get out of the car, gather up her family and head in to see how her world was going to change.

Christmas Eve 2022

Lydia's POV

She watched the kids decorate the tree and sighed softly. They'd tried pushing the tree decorating back as much as they could to allow time for Cameron to return and join in the tradition, but it was Christmas Eve and he was still away and they were out of time.

She watched as Evan shifted, losing his balance slightly. Luckily Kaylee was right behind him, the bubbly redhead joining them for their Christmas celebrations this year so that her foster parents could go to the bedside of a dying relative. She gently placed a supportive hand at his back, giving him the few seconds he needed to find his centre of gravity again while she said something that made him laugh as they went back to their decorating.

Evan's bones had healed, his internal injuries repaired and the concussion only keeping him out of it for a few days. The damage to the lower part of his left leg hadn't resulted in amputation, though the doctors had come close to having to resort to that option. But severe damage had been done to the muscles, nerves and ligaments, and the bone itself had been crushed so badly that he now had adjustable plates holding the bone together. A special brace had been fitted to his leg, with forearm crutches provided to support him and assist with his balance.

Cameron had returned two days after the accident, just as Evan was beginning to comprehend and react emotionally to what the doctors had told him; that he would never walk normally again. Finally knowing that she didn't have to be the strong one on her own anymore, she had just about collapsed in his arms for almost an hour. He'd grieved with her, apologised for not being there and set about making the changes that were going to be needed.

With Evan hospital bound due to his extensive breaks, he had plenty of time to get the house modified to be more mobility friendly. Derek had been a huge help there, especially when it came to converting the downstairs guest bedroom into a proper bedroom for a young boy and connecting it to the downstairs bathroom to make a suite for him. JJ knew a woman who assessed homes for mobility for a living and connected them with her; she had picked up on things they hadn't even thought of. By the time Evan came home a week before Christmas, the only part of the house he could no longer easily access was the upstairs rooms.

She watched the children laughing over something and looked at the clock. Time was ticking away and it got her thinking. During the twenty years of her marriage to Cameron, he had somehow only been away from them for one Christmas during their second year. That had been tough for her to handle, still getting used to being a wife as she had been. She clearly remembered crying on her dad's shoulder about how alone she felt when Cameron was away, telling him that she wasn't sure she could cope with it, and he had asked her if she thought she would cope if he was completely out of her life, either through divorce or death. He'd then gently kissed the top of her head and walked away to allow her the time she needed to sort everything out in her head. It had taken a couple of hours, but in the end the decision had been clear and easy. Yes, it was difficult when Cameron left her alone for weeks on end, but knowing that he was coming home to her was the only reason she was able to keep going.

After that, there were no doubts. She treasured the times he was home, living life with her and their growing family. When he was gone, she paid extra attention to everything so that she could catch him up on what he'd missed on his return. And she always did her very best to forget that one day her phone might ring or her doorbell might sound and her world might collapse completely around her. Because she loved him more than she loved her fear and her loneliness and in the end, the joy they had when they were together was enough to sustain her through the long moments where he wasn't by her side.

Cameron's POV

He studied the latest photo of his family and smiled sadly. Just six short hours from now, Christmas Day would begin without him. The only Christmas he had ever missed was that second one with his wife, when he was so in love but so very panicky over losing her because he kept being sent out of the country. He'd been certain that he would come home to find himself one of the many statistics with a broken marriage. Instead his wife had brought to the table more courage and strength than he had ever seen before in his life. She'd stuck it out with him through the last twenty years and he couldn't be more grateful to have her in his life.

He generally didn't mind his missions. After all, he had chosen patriotism to his country and had trained hard to both join and stay in the Green Berets all this time, even after most men either retired outright or were cycled out to less demanding units. But there were some moments, like right now, where he wished fervently that he had chosen another field to become an expert in.

Focusing back in on the photo, he traced Evan's face. It was the first truly genuine smile he had seen on his son's face since the seven-year-old had woken up and realised he'd almost lost his leg and would always walk with a limp. Rhys stood beside his little brother in the centre of the picture with an arm around his shoulder, almost laughing about something. Gavin and Kaylee stood to their right and Ariana and Jack stood to the left while he stood with his arms around Lydia in the centre at the back. Their family was expanding, thankfully with people that he actually liked. He fully expected to one day call Jack his son, had in fact seen it coming since the pair laid eyes on each other. He was similarly sure about Kaylee, though that had been laced with little moments of doubt over the last couple of years as her relationship with Gavin brought up issues that she was still working through from her abuse. But the fact that she was willing to work through them because she loved Gavin spoke volumes about her own courage, showing that she fit right in with this family that had been through hell multiple times and somehow still came out swinging.

Melancholy rocked him hard as he thought about the traditions he was missing by being in this forsaken part of the world. He loved participating in picking the tree and decorating it. He could cook up to a point, and several of his favourite dishes to prepare were Christmas treats that everyone would miss out on this year. Then there was Christmas Eve, when everyone was sound asleep, when he and Lydia would sneak down the stairs to put out all the presents and in years when the children were younger, put the last gifts together before moving them to their spots around the tree.

"Yo, Cam! We're out of here!"

His head snapped up, a hopeful look on his face. "Really?"

"Really. The powers that be found a plane that'll take us back to the States now. We'll all get home around two-ish, but come Christmas morning we'll be giving our families the best gift of all."

He whooped with glee and moved quickly to gather up the last of his things, racing out to the waiting jeeps as everyone shouted to the stragglers to hurry it up. He was almost bouncing with impatience before they set out for the runway, but he comforted himself with the thought that even though he had missed all the traditions, at least he wouldn't be missing a second Christmas with the family he loved.

February 2023

Rhys watched Candice Wilson talking with her friends and sighed heavily.

"Dude, there's no way she's going to say yes. Apart from being younger than her, you're also shorter and not nearly as close to the popular crowd as she is."

"I know that Trey, but I have to try."

His best friend moved to stand in front of him, blocking his view of the girl of his dreams.

"Why do you have to try Rhys? You're only ten…"

"I'm almost eleven," he reminded Trey firmly.

Trey rolled his eyes. "Yeah, like that changes things when she just turned twelve. Seriously dude, you're about to get your heart shattered into a million pieces in the most painfully embarrassing way possible. The kind of embarrassment that has the potential to stick around forever."

Rhys hesitated, wondering if that kind of embarrassment was worth the risk of not doing anything and then finding out later that she would have said yes. But then if she said no, everyone would know and they would laugh at him and tease him; Trey was right, he'd never hear the end of it.

So why risk it at all…

It wasn't as if he was too young for this; after all, Ariana had gone on her first date with Jack when she was just six. Albeit, their dads had both been there and they had been heavily supervised right through until they were twelve before they were allowed out on their own, but still…

They would make a really cute couple. The dark good looks he got from his dad with her light beauty would be really striking. But still…

"Maybe I should talk to my dad first."

Trey rolled his eyes and smacked him lightly on the back of the head. "Dude, that's only what I've been saying for like the last two hours."

He smoothed his hair back into place as he shot Trey a dirty look; he hated it when anyone messed with his hair. His eyes wandered back to Candice of their own accord and he froze as the most popular boy in the school walked up to her and put an arm around her shoulders. He said something that made Candice and her friends laugh. Then Candice reached up, threaded her fingers through his, and they turned and walked off.

"Dude, I'm sorry, cause that sucks. But seriously, it was bound to happen."

Rhys tore his eyes off their retreating backs and tried not to show how close to tears he was. "You suck with the comfort Trey."

"Hey, better to go with the tough love than the emotional hearts and flowers that girls do." He shuddered. "Honestly though, I'm really glad you didn't go put yourself out there and get embarrassed for all time. Save it up over the next few years and try again when we're older and wiser."

"But I was sure Candice was the one. I mean, Ari knew about Jack when she was six."

"Dude, girls are wired way different to boys, and Jack is just something else," he finished with a touch of the hero worship he held for Jack in his eyes. "Come on, let's get out of here and head home. If we get our homework done quickly, my mum will let us play some video games before dinner and if we play up your heartache enough, you may get a special treat out of her for the both of us."

Rhys rolled his eyes. "Do you ever think about anything other than your stomach and your mum's cooking?"

Trey grinned at him. "Hey, what can I say; I'm a growing boy and my mum just rocks!"

Laughing despite his young heart being broken into more pieces than he knew what to do with, Rhys followed his friend out of the school.

March 2023

Gavin lounged on the picnic blanket and watched Kaylee as she picked flowers in the meadow where they had settled for their first spring outing of the year. The sun turned the red of her hair into fire that danced in the light breeze as she moved. The weight of the small velvet box in his pocket called to him to make his move, but he waited, admiring her grace as she moved about him.

He'd asked her how she wanted to celebrate the actual day of her eighteenth birthday. The party had already been booked in for the Saturday but with the Sunday free for the both of them, he had hoped that she might want to spend the day with him. Her response had been all he had hoped for, with this picnic lunch now and dinner with his family this evening, and hopefully an announcement that he had been dying to make as far back as the moment he'd first laid eyes on her.

She suddenly dropped down beside him, laughter in her eyes as she leaned in to kiss him. He slid his hand up along the side of her face and tunnelled his fingers into her hair as he deepened the kiss for several long moments before she pulled back with a smile.

"You were miles away a few moments ago, and happy if that goofy smile on your face was anything to go by. What were you thinking about?"

"Goofy? I'll have you know that I don't smile in a goofy manner; it's all very masculine and suave."

"Mmm hmm," she murmured as she kissed him again briefly. "So what were you thinking on so happily Mr Masculine and Suave?"

He ran a finger down her nose. "You. And how much joy it gave me that you wanted to spend today with me."

Her smile turned soft, the look in her vivid green eyes taking his breath away. "I love you Gavin; where else would I want to spend my time when I get such a luxury as to have you all to myself."

He kissed her fiercely then, shifting her to straddle his thighs as he cradled her head to him. "I love you too Kaylee, so very much." Realising that now was his moment, he urged her off his lap and reached into his pocket as he shifted up onto one knee. Her soft gasp drew his gaze as he opened the box and turned it to face her. "I can't imagine my life without you in it. I knew, the moment I spotted you out on the track that you were my one, the other half of my soul for the rest of my life. Kaylee, will you marry me?"

The smile that came over her face was more blinding than the sun's light shining down on them in that moment.

"Yes! Gavin yes, I love you so much and it would be my absolute honour to take you as my husband, the other half of my soul for life."

He grinned, and then because the grin wasn't enough, he whooped. Sweeping her up and off her feet, he spun them around until they were giddy and breathless, laughing with joy in between the kisses. Finally remembering that he hadn't placed the ring on her finger yet, he set her down and found the box with the princess cut diamond ring and slid it on her finger as she sighed happily. Cupping her face in his hands, he kissed her tenderly before resting his forehead against hers.

"Thank you for making me the happiest man alive. I know I'm not perfect, but I fully intend to make you as happy as I can for the rest of our lives together."

"I believe you. And considering my own imperfections, I'd say that just makes us the perfect imperfect pair."

"Agreed," he murmured.

Several Hours Later

Gavin walked through the front door and tugged Kaylee after him, using his foot to nudge it firmly closed before hurrying towards the noise he could hear in the dining room as she laughed at him. He grinned back at her before pulling her around in front of him as they stepped into the room. Everyone turned to look at them, though the boys were scowling.

"Finally!" Rhys said huffily. "We're starving!"

"Hurry up and sit so we can eat."

Ariana and Jack rolled apologetic eyes at them, but his parents were looking at them kind of expectantly and rather than disappoint, he grinned and announced, "I asked Kaylee to marry me and she said yes."

Ariana whooped with glee and bounded to them, hugging them both excitedly as everyone else moved forward to congratulate them. Lydia hugged both girls tight to her as Cameron questioned when they were getting married in a sudden moment of quiet.

"No time soon," Kaylee responded. "Gavin and I both want to graduate college first before we make that much of a commitment. And a long engagement will give us plenty of time to plan everything from the wedding to how we want our first five and ten years together to look."

"So at least four years then," Jack suggested.

Kaylee and Gavin nodded happy agreement as they moved back to each other's side and headed to the chairs they normally sat at during meals. Conversation turned to the proposal and their future together.

June 2023

Cameron watched the kids kick the ball back and forth with half an eye as he kept the other half on Evan where he played chess with Spencer at the nearby tables. He was listening to the Hotchner brothers talking beside him, but his attention kept being pulled away to where the ladies were still congregated around the picnic tables they'd used for lunch. Whatever the women were talking about looked intense. He hadn't realised that he'd said anything aloud until Sean answered him.

"They're talking about China."

That stopped all the conversations around them as everyone zoned in on the joyous expression on Sean's face.

"What's this about China?" Derek asked curiously.

"As you all know by now, Esther and I have stopped trying to have a baby. It's heartbreaking to lose even a life you've never met, and it is terrifying for me to have to witness almost losing my wife to something that is supposed to bring so much joy into our lives. We did explore local adoption and surrogacy, but instead we decided to adopt a child from China."

"Why China?" Dave asked.

Sean shrugged. "We've both travelled there when we were younger and less settled than we are and we fell in love with the country and the people, plus we speak the language which will help while the child learns English. When we started exploring whether international adoption was for us, we kept coming back to that love. The local adoption agency put us in contact with an international one and two weeks ago we were informed that they had a child in mind for us. The paperwork was filled out and the adoption confirmed three days ago. We're flying to China next month to meet our child and bring them home."

Cameron extended his congratulations with everyone else, and felt their frustrations as Sean stayed close-mouthed about the age and sex of the child they were adopting. Half an hour later, everyone met up to pack up for the day, and he pulled Lydia close to his side as they watched Evan converse animatedly with Spencer as they slowly approached. Rhys chatted happily with several of the boys, while Ariana and Gavin put all their dishes back in the box they had arrived in, laughing along with Toby, Jack and Henry at a joke Austin was telling them.

"What do you think about China?" Lydia murmured oh so softly to him as Esther and Sean talked with Aaron and Emily.

"I think they are facing a difficult journey in front of them, adopting a foreign child and integrating that child into the family. My hope is that Isaac will take the changes in his family well, but at four years of age, I'm not sure he has the maturity to fully comprehend what it all means, both in the now and into the future. For all of that though, more power to them and I really do hope it goes well for them."

She nodded thoughtfully. "I agree with you on all of the above. I think we may just have to watch this space."

"Agreed." He turned her into him, kissed her thoroughly and then moved them to say goodbye to the others as they gathered up their brood to head home.

 **End**

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	6. 6 The Hotchner's

**A/N: I'm afraid these next few chapters are going to be a fair bit slower than my usual offerings. Though I do want to touch on each family, the next few chapters are dedicated to the families that I saw more as secondary characters throughout the series and this is making it harder for me to work up some drama for them. But I hope you will all stick around with me because I promise that in a few chapters, things will start picking up again.**

 **A huge thank you to zhangxinna for your review of chapter 5; I appreciate knowing that I haven't lost all of my readers to the time between my posts. Your feedback was appreciated and your encouragement keeps me going.**

 **Due to my awesome beta having a life (I am SO living vicariously through her) I have edited this chapter all by myself. So any mistakes you find are totally my fault.**

 **WARNING: As mentioned above, this chapter is slower and quieter than you may be used to and is rated K+.**

 **DISCLAIMER: I don't own Criminal Minds at all, although they do own me. And the list of those I do own is getting so incredibly long that I am just going to say that I own anyone who does not come directly from Criminal Minds.**

Chapter 6 – The Hotchner's Jr

July 2023

Sean walked into the bedroom and smothered a laugh. When he'd popped his head in fifteen minutes before, Esther had been sitting in the exact same position, doing the exact same thing. She'd started when he got her attention, apologised, and then promised to get right back to the packing she had retired to their room to do. He leaned against the door frame and cleared his throat.

"Packing going well I see," he stated with amusement.

Esther blinked as she looked up at him slowly; it was obvious to him that she was having trouble tearing her eyes away from the image of the little girl they were shortly to meet for the first time.

"Huh?"

He laughed softly and walked forward. "Honey, you need to give me the picture so you can get packed. We need to sit down with Isaac before we put him to bed and then we need to get some sleep of our own before we leave early tomorrow."

She frowned, starting to look back down at the picture as she asked, "What time is it?"

"It's almost five-thirty love. I've fed Isaac and I'm just about to bathe him and then we'll talk with him."

She looked back up at him, her eyes wide. "Holy cow! How long have I just been sitting here?"

"Almost two hours," he said gently as he took the photo from her reluctant grip.

She jumped up and headed for the bathroom after grabbing her toiletries bag. "Why didn't you stop me sooner?" He cleared his throat and she frowned again. "How many times?" He held up three fingers and she rolled her eyes. "I'm sorry. I'll get this done quick-smart."

He saluted casually with a smile as he walked out of the room. "I never doubted you love."

He left her muttering to herself about paying attention and walked into Isaac's room to find him ready for his bath. Half an hour later, Isaac was clean, warm and dry and Sean was damp, but at least not dripping, as Esther caught up to them in their son's bedroom. They settled Isaac on Esther's lap while he quickly changed into dry sweats before he joined them. He nodded at Esther to begin.

"Sweetie, do you remember what is happening tomorrow?"

Isaac nodded his head confidently. "I'm going to stay with uncle Aaron and aunt Emily and you and Daddy are going to get my new sister."

Sean coughed slightly to avoid laughing at the wording the four-year-old had used. Esther cleared her throat, her eyes dancing with amusement as she nodded. "That's right sweetie. We will drop you off to daycare and go to catch a plane to China. At the end of the day, aunt Emily will pick you up and you'll stay with them for the next week. And when we come home, we'll have our new daughter, your new little sister, with us."

"I'm going to help her learn to speak like us, right?"

"That's right. Your mother and I can speak her language, and we've taught you a lot as well so that we can all speak to her. But she'll need to learn to speak English pretty quickly so that she isn't confused or scared and this is where you can be a big help to her and to us as well."

Isaac's little chest puffed up with pride as he nodded vigorously, though the whole effect was ruined when he yawned hugely. Esther gently kissed the top of his head before helping him to crawl under the covers. Sean added his kisses as he smoothed the covers down over his sleepy son and they walked out of the room to finalise their preparations for take-off the next morning.

One Week Later

Sean watched Xiao Si sleep and wondered at the resiliency of the very young. Xiao Si's mother had been a prostitute who had no notion of who the father of her child was. And while she had done her best to keep her child clothed and fed, her nineteen-month-old daughter had seen far too much of her profession, and her death at the hands of one of her 'clients', for anyone's peace of mind. And yet she was a quiet, sweet child who loved drawing, ducks and the new teddy-bear her new parents had given her when they met for the first time. She clearly didn't fully understand what was happening and how her life was about to change forever, but that hadn't stopped her from accepting all the cuddles they had to offer her.

A noise from the seat at the window had him dragging his eyes from his newest child to look at his wife, who looked to have woken very abruptly and was almost frantically trying to undo her lap belt.

"Out, I need out…I'm going to be sick," she mumbled as she finally got it undone and stood up, clearly forgetting the overhead compartments and knocking her head quite soundly.

He moved out of his seat and watched as she rushed down the aisle and into the tiny toilet. A glance at his sleeping daughter kept him where he was, but he could hear her retching through the door she clearly hadn't had time to close properly behind her. A tense half hour later and she was stumbling back to him.

"I hate curry," she mumbled as she came to rest against him.

"You love curry, you just hate the one you had three nights ago."

"Right…what you said."

"You want to sit back down?"

She sighed and eased back past him. "I guess so, but I make no promises about not going for a repeat." He settled her back in her seat and watched as she gently brushed some hair out of Xiao Si's face. "I've been thinking-"

"Careful, that's dangerous," he murmured, and moved back quickly to avoid her jab at him as he grinned.

"-do we keep her name as it is and honour her heritage or do we westernise it?"

Sean smiled. "She is our daughter now. Our 'western' daughter now. I think that we'll just be confusing everyone, including her, if we don't change her name to match our naming system."

Esther nodded slowly. "I agree with you. Xiao Si translated is Chelsea; do we want to go with that or change it entirely?"

Sean shook his head. "Xiao Si was the name she was given at birth. If that translates into Chelsea in English, then let's keep it that way. Does she have a middle name? I don't recall seeing or hearing anything about that."

"None that I was made aware of, but I was thinking about that too. How about Joy for a middle name?"

"Because she brings us joy as she joins our family?"

"Exactly."

"Agreed. Chelsea Joy Hotchner it is."

September 2023

Sean parked the car in the drive and took a deep breath as he attempted to control the excitement threatening to explode out of him. A quick look at the passenger seat assured him that he hadn't dreamed the last hour of his life and that it was really happening; he was now the proud owner of what would be his dream restaurant.

Grabbing the paperwork, he jumped from the car and rushed inside, eager to share the news with Esther. Hearing noises upstairs, he took the stairs two at a time and practically ran into the bedroom before coming to an abrupt halt as familiar noises reached his ears.

"Please, not again," he whispered fervently as he put the papers on the bed and strode to the bathroom door to find his wife on her knees, body bowed over the toilet and a positive pregnancy test sitting innocuously on the vanity.

"No. No, no no!" He paced away a few steps and then turned back around. "I can't go through this again Esther, I thought I made that clear."

She started slightly, but didn't have time to respond before she was sick again. He shoved a hand through his hair as a heavy groan escaped, but he still moved forward to tie her hair back and wet a wash cloth to help cool her down. Long minutes later, he steadied her as she stood and flushed the toilet.

"You know I didn't do this deliberately Sean."

"And yet here we are again," he growled as he started pacing.

"Well what do you expect me to do about this?"

"I thought you were on the pill while I used condoms. That was the plan."

"What? Are you saying this is my fault now?"

"What? I am not having this conversation with you now."

"Are you sure about that? Because you seem to be insinuating something that I don't even want to fathom you thinking I am even capable of. Which means we _need_ to have this conversation," she finished with a shout as she turned her back on the vanity to see him beginning to walk away.

He turned back with a pained look. "Obviously there isn't anything we can do about this except wait and see how many pieces I need to pick up after this whole situation explodes."

Her heart tearing in two, she took a shaky step forward and held a hand out to him. "Sean, please…"

"Maybe I should have just told you what the doctor said after the last time. Then maybe you would understand what this is doing to me."

"Well since I don't understand, it would be nice if you could explain why you're so angry with me," she said as her voice rose in exasperation.

"I'm not angry with you," he shouted back. "I'm terrified that I'm going to lose you because the doctor said that another miscarriage like the last one was more likely to cause catastrophic internal bleeding that could kill you. He said that the internal damage already done has left you with a fragile internal system that likely wouldn't hold up to another such trauma.

"And on top of my terror over potentially losing you, I'm furious with myself for not being strong enough to get the vasectomy he suggested I get if I didn't want to even risk you being back in that position. I'm…"

The door opening with a bang interrupted his next words as Isaac and Chelsea burst into the room. Isaac looked scared and Chelsea took one look at them and burst into tears. Isaac's fear morphed into anger as he moved closer to his new sister and put his arms around her as he yelled, "Stop scaring my sister!"

Sean and Esther exchanged a guilty look and moved quickly to gather the kids up. It took about an hour to calm them down and get them settled with a dvd in the living room, but finally they made it back to the bedroom.

"I got my restaurant site today. A done deal with the paperwork all signed and filed," Sean said in a flat, tired voice as he sat heavily at the end of the bed.

Esther sat down carefully beside him. "Baby, that's great news." He nodded acknowledgement but said nothing as he tried to tamp down on his emotions. Despite his efforts though, a single tear slid down his cheek. She moved close and hugged him tight. "It'll be alright Sean, you'll see."

Unable to agree with her and unwilling to start another argument, he said nothing as she continued to hold him and he prayed that he wouldn't be burying wife number two before the year was out.

October 2023

Isaac watched as his parents had one of the daily language lessons with his new sister that had become the norm in their house and wondered at all the attention she was getting when it used to all be his. He shot her a smile when she looked nervously in his direction before attempting the new word they were trying to teach her. That she seemed more confident about trying the word with his encouragement made him feel really good, but he still wasn't sure about sharing all the attention.

Things had been changing ever since they brought Chelsea home. Oh, he didn't think she was the reason for _all_ of the changes going on, but something sure was happening. His mum had been really sick lately, and his dad was unhappy a lot of the time. They hadn't been talking and smiling and laughing as much as they usually did and he couldn't figure out why.

And yet, despite all of that, he knew he was loved, just as much as ever.

He hadn't felt like going outside to play the other day and had been sitting quietly trying to read a new book his uncle Spencer had brought for him when his mum had walked in from where they were all out in the backyard and asked if he wanted to come out and play with them. He'd shaken his head and said that he just wanted to read and the next thing he knew, his mum was cuddling him while she helped him read the book. Then his dad had come in with Chelsea and they joined in on the cuddle on the couch and it had felt so nice to know that how he felt still mattered to his parents.

So he didn't know what was going on, but at least he was still loved. Comforted by that thought, he headed outside with Chelsea to play before dinner.

The Next Day

"Alright, whatever it is, you have ten seconds to spill it."

Esther jumped slightly and looked at her sister-in-law watching her expectantly and slumped in defeat.

"I'm pregnant, and I'm pretty certain Sean doesn't want me to be," she said as tears started to well up in her eyes.

Emily immediately shifted her seat closer and wrapped her up in a tight hug. Esther closed her eyes and breathed deeply as she attempted to hold her emotions in check in such a public place. For long moments, they were still, though she was aware of Emily thanking the waiter as he placed their meals on the table.

She straightened up reluctantly and said softly, "Maybe I should start at the beginning."

Emily smiled warmly at her. "The beginning is always a good place to start. But eat something first while it is still hot. And keep in mind that even though you may not be feeling hungry, the baby needs the sustenance."

Esther nodded and reached for her utensils. Hungrier than she realised, and feeling a deep sense of relief at the knowledge that she could finally lay the whole story out and maybe gain some clarity through Emily's point of view, she tucked into her meal and polished it off in record time. Emily finished a short time later and they ordered tea. Once the waiter left with their order, and anxious to get it all off her chest, Esther launched abruptly into her story and somehow managed to get it all out in some semblance of order.

Emily stayed quietly thoughtful while their teas were placed in front of them, stirring in milk and sugar and taking a sip before she looked up.

"Honey, I don't want to belittle what you're feeling. I know your dream has always been to have a large family. I can't say that I'm not just a little bit angry with you for keeping all of this from Aaron and me. We could have helped and supported you both over the last few years in particular, but I can also understand wanting to keep what has been happening to yourselves.

"But for all of that, have you tried putting yourself in Sean's shoes? He was married to a woman he loved more than life, before she died and left him a widower. Then he gathered his courage and made a move on you that led to him needing to find yet more courage to try marriage again, despite knowing how cruel life can be. But he fell in love with you. _You._ Not the thought of getting married so that he could have children, but the thought that he was so in love with you that he couldn't see himself living life without you in it.

"The miscarriages have been hard on the both of you, knowing that there was the small blossoming of life continuously being cut short for one reason or another. But then comes the day where suddenly, for him, the whole situation feels like Hannah all over again. And now you are potentially asking him to go through that again; not only for him to become a widower for the second time in his life, but to become a single dad as well. So as hard as it is for me to say and for you to hear, I can absolutely understand him wanting you to not be pregnant again."

Esther swallowed hard. "I can't have an abortion."

Emily frowned. "I wasn't suggesting it and I doubt the thought has even crossed his mind. In fact, I guarantee that the only thing on his mind right now is whether or not he'll have to bury another woman that he loves more than anything before the year has ended."

Across Town

"Esther's pregnant." As Aaron stopped moving abruptly beside him, Sean closed his eyes and groaned internally. "Sorry Aaron. I didn't mean to just blurt that out."

"Obviously you needed to say it though." Aaron moved them out of the way of a workman carrying a toolbox and gestured to a nearby low brick wall. "Let's sit over there for a few minutes and you can explain why that simple statement about your wife's condition was filled with so much anguish."

Unable to wait even a moment longer to get it off his chest, Sean blurted the whole story out as he started pacing. He knew he probably looked the very picture of a wild man, but with his heart torn in two, he just couldn't keep it in any longer. Aaron asked a few questions to clarify things and then sank back into a long moment of quiet before he looked up.

"That's tough bro; probably as tough as it gets. And I've been there, where you are, wondering if you won't be going through the same scenario all over again. I don't have any answers for you. You don't want Esther to die and of course she doesn't want that either. Have you considered that you have another option open…"

"No!" Sean glared at him. "Absolutely not! If you even say what you're thinking then you can just leave right now."

Aaron held up his hands. "Easy Sean. I didn't mean any offence." As Sean nodded jerkily and resumed pacing, Aaron's face grew thoughtful. "Maybe it would help if you had a chat with my therapist. He can help you work through a lot of the uncertainty you're dealing with and give you coping mechanisms. I know that wasn't how we were brought up; talking about things was definitely a no-go area in our family. But not talking to your wife about this is going to land you in a place you don't want to be in of having to try to save your marriage because you said or didn't say the right things." When Sean started shaking his head, Aaron caught his eyes with his and held them. "Since you don't think what you _are_ saying is getting through, the benefits of talking to someone who can teach you _how_ to say something surely outweigh any discomfit you may feel at the thought of even trying it. Just think about it, alright?"

Sean nodded reluctantly and looked around, clearly feeling uncomfortable. "Come on, let's continue the tour of the site and I'll finish telling you about my plans for the restaurant."

November 2023

"Hey Aaron, thanks for coming."

Sean accepted the hug his big brother offered him as the other man grinned. "Considering how many times you've had the thankless task of looking after my crazy brood, looking after your two angels while you take Esther out to dinner is my absolute pleasure. Especially since my wife finally relaxed as I explained that you two were talking again. Her being relaxed means that I get hot sex tonight and…"

Sean roared with laughter and waved him into the kitchen. They went over a couple of things while they waited for Esther to join them.

"Chelsea's English sounds better all the time," Aaron commented as they finished going through the list.

"Yeah, she's doing great with picking up the language now. The kids at the daycare love helping her with it, Isaac is constantly helping her, and of course there are the daily lesson plans that we are following."

"So everything is going well then?"

"Mostly," he hedged as he wiped down the counter and avoided his big brother's eyes.

"Sean?"

Sean sighed as anger flooded through him, quickly followed by defeat and confusion. Dropping the cloth back in the sink he turned around. "We were at the park this afternoon running out some energy before tonight. I had been sitting on the bench with this blond woman, talking with her for a good ten minutes when Chelsea and Isaac came over to say that they were hungry. I was pulling out apple slices for them when she called me daddy and I swear this woman actually blanched as she looked at Isaac first and then Chelsea. Anyway, she lurched up, called her daughter over to her and practically ran off as though we had the plague. I was so stunned that it took me a minute to realise that the kids had grabbed their apple pieces and returned to playing."

"That's terrible! I'm glad the kids missed the connotations involved."

"Yeah, me too. I called Carrie when I got home and asked her about it. We're going to have lunch sometime in the next week to talk about it at length."

"That's a really good idea. She's been through this on and off for years now, so she'll know what to say to help you both deal with the racist idiots out there."

"I ag…wow!" Sean found himself with his brain in his pants and his jaw on the floor as Esther stepped into the room. The tension of the last months had dissipated a lot with the knowledge that Esther was now safely past the point of miscarriage…and safely past the point of bleeding to death while having the miscarriage. Oh, he knew that there were still plenty of obstacles still to get past for a safe delivery and retaining a healthy wife, but the big one that gave him all his worst nightmares was now in the past. So he had invited his wife out to dinner with him; the beginning of an apology of epic proportions for his behaviour over the last few months and a chance for them to talk seriously without the risk of little ears hearing something they shouldn't and being interrupted at an inopportune moment. Having booked the nicest restaurant in town, he'd asked her to dress up, and boy had she delivered.

Aaron broke the silence as he smiled. "Hi darling. You look amazing tonight."

Esther shot him a small smile as she blushed and murmured a thank you. Sean started out of his stunned silence and stepped forward.

"He's right, you look amazing; just gorgeous." She looked uncertainly at him at that, and he resolved to make sure that she knew he was telling the truth by the end of the night. "We need to go before they give our reservation to someone else," he said gently and she nodded. Aaron called the kids in to say goodnight and then he gently ushered his wife out the door as he rehearsed in his head all that he needed to say and prayed that he hadn't done too little too late to save them before they hit the rocks he could see looming on the horizon.

January 2024

Sean looked on with pride as Esther helped Chelsea and Isaac use the giant scissors to cut the big red ribbon strung across the front of his new restaurant. Family and friends stood side by side with strangers, several local news crews, reporters and magazine restaurant reviewers, waiting for the doors to open. The staff he had hired, both for the restaurant floor and the kitchen, stood in their crisp new uniforms, smiling in excitement that the day had finally come to put into practice all that they had been training for over the last few months. The last four months had been an insane whirlwind of planning meetings, red tape and contractors that had come together in time for the opening date he had set and never taken his eyes off of.

A cheer pulled him back to the here and now, and he moved to stand beside Esther, lifting Chelsea up as Isaac leaned in against Esther's side, one hand stealing onto her belly and no doubt finding whatever movements there were to feel in those moments. They stood still for a few moments for the cameras, and then he welcomed everyone in to share his dream come true. They said goodnight to the kids, who were being looked after by Emily's parents and then watched as the two rushed to join their cousins as Esther wrapped her arms around him.

"I'm so proud of you Sean. I'm so glad that this day has come and I get to stand here with you."

He turned into her, settling his hands at the small of her back. "Know this, I may turn into a gigantic idiot every now and again, but I will never give up on us as long as you don't."

Her giggle turned into a soft smile. "I love you far too much to ever give up on us. We lost our way for a bit there, but now that I understand _exactly_ what is going on in your head, we'll be fine. I'm sure of it."

"As am I," he murmured before stealing a long, lingering kiss. Sharing a loving smile, they walked inside Sean's dream workplace and separated to ensure everyone had a first class experience in what had been dubbed as Washington's hottest new venue to wine and dine that special someone in your life.

March 2024

Esther sat amidst piles of presents, pieces of cake and other goodies as the girls talked and laughed around her. This was her second baby shower, the first thrown for her by one of her oldest friends and including a rather wide and eclectic group of women. This second shower had been put together by Emily and consisted only of the women in their tightknit family group.

She rubbed her belly and smiled with renewed amusement as she thought about what the guys were up to.

"Teresa, how did you talk Dave into joining the guys on their pretend tough-mudder competition?"

Teresa waved her hand airily. "That was easy. I pointed out that they didn't have a moderator and that he could pull the age card to win that spot over Spencer who was obviously gunning for it."

They all laughed uproariously at that, though Austin looked the most amused, no doubt thinking about all the bruises she would probably have to soothe later.

"How's Elizabeth doing?" Jordan asked as they settled down.

Teresa's smile turned a little pensive. "She's getting there slowly, but it is doubtful that she'll make it into school for this year; she's just not at the right level mentally for that yet. Dave and I are doing a lot of research to see what more we can do to help her get to where she needs to be. The school has said that if she reaches the right markers for a child in kindergarten, they'll be happy to accept her immediate enrolment, especially considering she is already six and that isn't ideal for a child starting school for the first time."

"What about getting her a dedicated assistant; would that help at all?" JJ asked.

"Unfortunately it doesn't change where she is mentally. But the school has already indicated that they'd be happy to have an assistant in the class to help her when we do finally make it."

Seeing that the atmosphere was getting too sombre for her liking, Esther was about to change the subject when Jordan piped up.

"My kids are growing up too fast."

For a few seconds everyone just blinked in surprise at the sudden statement and then it was if everyone jumped onto the new conversation.

"How so?" Penelope asked curiously.

Emily rolled her eyes and shared a knowing smile with Jordan as she elaborated on her statement.

"Ben is going on his first date tomorrow night. Derek made the mistake of asking how he wanted to celebrate his 12th birthday and Ben enthusiastically responded that he wanted to have lunch with his family and dinner with his girlfriend."

"Are they officially boyfriend/girlfriend now?" Kelly asked.

"Apparently," Emily said in amusement.

"Though this was news to the four of us. But he agreed that the date could be supervised since it was their first and Derek agreed. He had a quick chat with Aaron and then Emily and I were volunteered to supervise while the guys said they would babysit."

"So guess what we're doing tomorrow night?"

Everyone laughed as Esther hoped fervently that she had a lot of years to go before either of her kids decided they liked someone that much.

April 2024

Esther watched with a grateful heart as her brother-in-law steered her overly stressed husband out of the room. Turning her head, she watched the as the foetal heart monitor declared her unborn child's heartbeat to be a healthy 148 beats per minute, despite the fact that she had gone into premature labour almost thirty hours before.

"If you want to rest, I can come back." She smiled at Emily and gestured her into the room. "And before you ask, Isaac and Chelsea are having a ball at our place after Carrie declared a free-for-all kids pool party and invited the rest of the extended family over."

"Good," she said softly. "One of us stressed to the max is enough for all of us."

"Mmm, I passed the guys in the hall. Sean looks frustrated, stressed and afraid all in one."

"That about sums it up. It'll be good for him to get this breather with Aaron and hopefully remember _to breathe_ while he is at it."

Emily chuckled. "Aaron said he'd do his best, but wasn't making any promises regarding working a miracle."

Esther laughed, then groaned softly through the contraction that followed. Once she was able to relax back again, she asked for a topic of discussion that would distract her.

Emily grinned. "I'm the mother of a grown man."

"My, my. You're positively ancient then." Emily poked her tongue out at her and Esther grinned. "And Ariana just turned eighteen too, didn't she?"

"She did. Aaron and Cameron have a betting pool going to see who can predict when he'll propose to her."

"What's the going rate?"

"One hundred dollars says sometime in the next year; the big bucks belong to Aaron and Cameron, who are getting very competitive about the whole situation. Then there are smaller amounts for specific dates both this year and beyond that from everyone else."

Esther laughed until she cried and then a stronger than normal contraction stole her breath and made her choke until Emily forced her upright and slapped her back to force air back into her lungs.

"Can you go find my doctor and my husband, in that order, so Sean doesn't arrive and stress over the fact that the doc isn't here?"

Emily hugged her tight and gently kissed the top of her head. "I'll go do that now. Good luck honey."

"Luck has nothing to do with any of this," Esther muttered as the older woman left the room and she looked down at her belly. "Let's keep things nice and easy for daddy, okay little one?"

A minute later her doctor walked into the room with a cheerful smile and a few minutes after that, Sean flew into the room just in time to get in close to support her as she started the serious part of giving life to their youngest child.

Five Days Later

Jack rounded up Isaac and Chelsea and herded them outside to play while Emily and Aaron made themselves comfy on the couch, with Emily very quickly claiming the rights to cuddle newborn Kyle John Hotchner as Esther settled back into a pile of cushions and Sean went to get drinks for everyone.

"I swear, whenever someone has a baby, I get clucky all over again, even though the baby-making factory here has long since shut down."

Esther laughed. "I hear you. My baby-making days are now over as well. Sean has an appointment for a vasectomy next week; we neither of us want to risk my health in that way ever again."

"That's sensible," Aaron said as Sean returned.

"Closer to the time of your post-natal appointment, we'll go shopping for a little something-something for you to wear. Because honey, there is nothing more freeing than knowing you can have all the sex you want with your man and there isn't a snowballs chance of you making a baby."

Esther blushed as Sean squirmed just slightly beside her. "Do you mind sis? I don't really need to know anything about your sex life."

"Why not?" Aaron asked deadpan, teasing his brother as the younger man blanched and swore.

Emily chuckled. "I'm so glad there were no issues with his lungs what with him being born five weeks early."

"We're both very grateful about this fact as well," Esther agreed as Sean nodded.

"Any thoughts on adopting another child to round your family up to six?"

Esther shrugged. "Maybe and yet not really. We are just going to focus on the three we have for now. We'll see how we feel in a year or two about expanding again but for now we are content.

Sean nodded his agreement. "I'm going to change the subject now. What is the general consensus on when Jack is going to propose to Ari?"

Emily shook her head and muttered something unintelligible as Aaron answered his brother. "There isn't really a general consensus. The guesses range from the start of this month when Ari turned eighteen to when the two finish college. Why? Do you want to put in a guess of your own?" Aaron finished eagerly.

Sean caught the look Emily was shooting him and cleared his throat as he shook his head. "Ah, no. I was just curious."

"That's guy speak for they'll discuss it later when you aren't around," Esther said with an indulgent smile. "I take it your approval changed since we talked a week ago?"

Emily shrugged. "It seemed like a bit of harmless fun initially, but Jack found out about it yesterday and got really distressed over it."

Aaron frowned as he turned to his wife. "You didn't tell me that."

"You never asked."

Aaron's frown deepened before he abruptly stood and left the room, no doubt heading for the backyard to confirm what his wife had just said.

"What do you think about Dave and Teresa getting the twins' birthday invitations out so early?" Esther asked as she took a grizzly Kyle back from his reluctant aunt.

"And what do you think about the twins celebrating their birthday so early?" Sean added quickly.

"I think they've done the right thing since they are trying to get everything ready for their trip up to New York for Tammy's audition to join Julliard's summer youth program. Considering their birthday is on the eleventh of June and Tammy will already be in the thick of the program if she is successful, arranging the celebration to happen before Teresa and Tammy make the move up for the summer is a great idea. Tammy will be there to celebrate with the twins' birthday with the whole family _and_ her successful entry to the program at the same time."

"You don't think Nathaniel and Isabella will be jealous of the extra attention their sister would be getting?"

"Not at all. They're very proud of their sister's accomplishments, and I think it was Nathaniel who suggested they do it this way if she does get in."

Aaron returned to the room and flopped down on the couch. "I called Cameron and cancelled the betting pool. He's going to arrange to return everyone's money. He was reluctant to do so until I told him that Jack had mentioned it to Ari and she was appalled by the whole thing." He shook his head. "I wish I'd known sooner."

Emily rubbed his arm gently. "Don't stress it too much; you guys are doing the right thing now and that is all that counts."

Everyone nodded agreement and the conversation shifted to other topics before the older Hotchner's rounded up their brood and headed home. Hours later, their children all in bed and the house quiet, Sean and Esther danced to quiet music while they softly discussed how very blessed they were by their family, both immediate and extended, and by the strength of their marriage borne by the many lessons they'd learned over the last year and the many fires they'd walked through together to get to where they were now.

 **End**

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